Dreams Echoed
by Jade4813
Summary: The sequel to "Dream Lovers" - Clark gets an unexpected new ability just as he and Lois are considering making their fantasies a reality. Clois.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: I hadn't really been planning on writing a sequel to this so soon, because I have so many other stories that are desperately in need of an update. However, sometimes there are stories that grab onto you and don't let go. This is turning into one of them.

I'm going to have a little fun with this and there are some spoilers incorporated into the story. However, if you don't know the spoilers, you won't know which bits they are, so that works out pretty well! I may incorporate new spoilers as they come out, so we'll see.

Anyway, this is the oft-requested sequel to **Dream Lovers**. You should definitely read that one before this.

**Dreams Echoed**

**Chapter 1**

Lois's stride was quick and efficient as she took a sip of her cup of coffee and walked purposefully down the street toward the Daily Planet. Stifling a yawn behind the rim of her cardboard cup with its plastic top, she jogged across the street, deftly maneuvering around the typical lockjam of irritated and bored drivers caught in traffic on their way to work. Yet another thing to love about her new apartment; she was no longer one of the throng and could therefore sleep in an extra hour or so in the morning.

As she passed a newsstand, she paused and grabbed a morning paper. "Morning, Al," she said brightly as she passed over a dollar and waited for change.

"Morning, Miss Lane!" the seller greeted her, a wide grin splitting his face, causing the lines of his weathered features to grow deeper. "I read your article in the paper last night. Not bad, not bad. You coulda had a punchier lead, though."

She grinned, taking the criticism as she did every morning. Al had been selling papers longer than she'd been alive, and he figured that just about made him an expert on writing for them. "Yeah, but I spelled all the words right this time, didn't I?" she joked with him as he handed her back her quarter.

"You did at that. I bet that was your editor's doing, though, wasn't it?" he shot back with a jovial chuckle. "You owe that poor suffering man a thank-you for all the hard work he does for you. Maybe you should bake him cookies. Maybe you should bake me some while you're at it."

"I bake that man cookies, he'll no longer agree to be my editor," she confessed unabashedly. "And you'd refuse to have any more of these daily talks with me. Trust me, Al, you do not want me anywhere near a stove if you can avoid it. Ask Clark if you don't believe me."

Al shook his head, a bemused expression on his face though he tried his hardest to throw her a mournful look. "I swear, I don't know how that nice Mr. Kent does it."

Though inwardly she winced at the unintentional reminder of her current predicament, Lois didn't let her smile falter. "He's a saint, I guess," she said brightly, dropping her quarter into the tip jar and snatching her coffee off the shelf. "Later, Al!"

"Later, Miss Lane!" the elderly man's farewell was swallowed up by the sounds of the city as she tucked the paper under her arm and continued on down the half a block to the Planet.

She was almost there when she heard the sound of a scuffle nearby. Pausing in her tracks, she turned and looked to her left, peering down a dark alleyway towards the source of the commotion. Two men in ragged clothes had pinned a woman between them – while one man grabbed at her purse, the other made a grab for her neck, as if to snatch away a necklace.

"Tel em o–!" the woman yelled in a language Lois didn't recognize, her cry cutting off as one of the men jerked her forward, causing her to lose her footing. She landed hard on her knees.

The newspaper fell at her feet, the coffee cup got flung aside, as Lois raced down the alleyway. "Hey!" she bellowed, startling the men. As they turned to her, she cried, "Let her go." They didn't move immediately, so she shifted into a fighting stance and threw them both her most menacing glare. "I'm warning you. If you don't leave here now, they'll be taking you away in an ambulance."

"Man, it's not worth it," one of them grumbled and turned, sprinting down the alley. His companion followed suit, and Lois stepped forward to give the stranger a hand.

"Hey," she said with a friendly smile. "You okay?" Before the woman could answer, Lois rolled her eyes and grimaced in self-reproach. "Jeez, stupid question. You probably don't even understand a word I'm saying, so I'm –"

The woman placed her hand in Lois's and rose awkwardly to her feet. "I understand you," she said without the slightest trace of an accent. Her blue eyes were friendly as she smiled at Lois. "Thanks for the help; I really appreciate it. It was stupid of me to get caught like that, but I had something else on my mind and I was distracted."

Lois startled at the flawless English. "Oh!" she cried, a puzzled expression on her face. With a slight shake of her head, she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't think you spoke English. I heard you say something to those guys, and I –" Her companion was looking at her in confusion, so she shook her head again. "Never mind. I must have misheard you. Anyway, you sure you're okay, Miss…?"

"Zatara. Zatanna Zatara," her companion said, and Lois's eyebrows shot upward at the unusual name. Zatanna looked down, as if checking herself for injuries, and then shrugged. "Yeah, I think I'm okay. Just skinned the hell out of my knee, but I'll live."

Tilting her head to the side, Lois looked at the injury in question. It was bleeding, though not too badly. However, given the general dirtiness of the alley they were standing in, it would still be a good idea to get the scrape cleaned out. "I tell you what," she said abruptly, "I work two doors down, at the Planet. I've got some first aid stuff in my desk – I cannot tell you how many times in the span of a week I can injure myself on the job. Why don't you come with me and we'll get that taken care of. I wouldn't want to guess at what you could pick up from this place."

Zatanna paused and then nodded with a grateful smile. "Thanks," she said. "You don't really have to go through all the trouble, but I appreciate it anyway."

"Not at all," Lois said as she slung her purse over her shoulder and turned. As they walked, she looked at her companion out of the corner of her eye. She was slightly shorter than Lois, and looked very dramatic dressed in a white blouse, black pants, and black leather boots. Black curly hair fell just past her shoulders, and her bright blue eyes were fringed with dark lashes. "You know, I could swear you look familiar to me," Lois said speculatively as she gestured Zatanna through the Planet's revolving doors before following her through. Once inside, she continued, "Have we met?"

Zatanna paused. "I don't think we've met, no," she said, with a strange emphasis on the word 'we.' Maybe you've seen a poster for my show." At Lois's curious look, she explained, "I'm a magician. Ever go to any magic acts?"

"Me? No," Lois said on a laugh, hitting the button for the elevator. The doors slid open only a few seconds later. As she walked inside and hit the button for her floor, she scoffed, "Seeing rabbits pulled out of hats isn't exactly my idea of a good time." Belatedly, she realized that she had probably just insulted her companion's profession, so she added quickly, "No offense!"

"None taken," Zatanna said, seeming to take Lois's skepticism in stride. "But, you know, there's a lot more to magic than card and hat tricks."

"Don't I know it," Lois said glumly. "The last time I had a run-in with some magic, I got whammied with a love potion and ended up with a tattoo of a heart on my –" Her voice broke off abruptly as she realized what she'd been about to confess. "Here's our floor!" she blurted instead, her voice overly loud in her attempts to cover up her embarrassment. Zatanna simply looked amused.

The bullpen was bustling as they walked off the elevator and made their way to Lois's desk. Yanking open the bottom drawer, Lois pulled out her first aid kit and grabbed a large band aid and some antiseptic ointment from inside. "This should take care of it for you," she said, passing the items over. "You'll want to wash it out, though, before you use these."

"Thanks. I really appreciate this. Um…where's the bathroom?" Zatanna asked, glancing around. Then she turned and walked towards the direction Lois had indicated. "Great. I'll be right back."

When she returned a few minutes later, Lois was sitting in her chair, looking through a pile of messages and grumbling darkly under her breath. Zatanna's noticed the disparity between the clutter of Lois's desk and the neatness of the one right across from it. Tilting her head, she read the name plate. _Clark Kent_. Any other time, Zatanna might not have remembered the name, but she recognized the face of the woman who had come to her aid, though the two of them had never met.

So this was the woman who had the life a birthday girl had once envied. Zatanna wondered if Lois would agree that her life was all that easy. Perhaps not, and it had almost certainly not been helped by the hex Zatanna had cast when a girl had made a wish upon a cupcake. She probably owed Lois an apology, but maybe she could do her one better.

"Is everything all right?" she asked as she returned to the desk.

"What?" Lois asked, looking up in surprise. She appeared preoccupied, lost in her thoughts, and it seemed to take a few seconds before she placed the woman before her. "Oh…yeah. No, everything's fine." Her words weren't spoken with conviction.

"Well, I think I owe you one for this morning. Is there anything I can do to help?" Zatanna offered.

"I wish," Lois said with a heavy sigh, the look she cast at the desk across from hers betraying her.

Grabbing an empty chair, Zatanna took a seat. "Guy problems?" she prodded gently.

Hazel eyes turned towards her. "No offense," Lois said, "But I'm really not very good at the whole girl talk thing. I'm better at talking about other people's problems then my own. And, really, you shouldn't feel like you owe me anything just because I –"

Ignoring her protests, Zatanna said, "You know, sometimes it helps to talk over a problem, put it in perspective. Is there anyone you can talk over your problems with?"

The hardened reporter wilted slightly, and she bit her lip thoughtfully as she pondered Zatanna's suggestion. What harm would it do for her to share just a little of what had been bothering her lately? No, she typically wasn't the type to divulge anything she perceived as a personal weakness, but those dreams of hers were starting to drive her insane. And if she was never going to see Zatanna again (and there was no reason to expect she would), what harm would it do?

"It's just…" she began slowly, picking her words carefully. "I've been having these dreams lately. Really graphic dreams, if you want to know the truth. And I don't really know what to do about them. It's every single night, you know? The same dreams, over and over. And I'm starting to get really worried about what they could mean."

"About Clark?" Zatanna suggested, noticing the look Lois threw the desk across from her own.

Lois shrugged and admitted in an attempt at an off-handed manner, "Sometimes." Taking a deep breath, she sat back in her chair and lowered her voice so she wouldn't be overheard by anyone else in the bullpen. "The thing is, I thought he cared about me once. And then I thought he didn't. Now I think he does – I mean, he says he does and I guess I believe him. But he also says that when he blew me off for our date that wasn't a date, it was because he was confused about his ex-girlfriend. Which, incidentally, I totally believe, but if he doesn't know how he feels about her, than how am I supposed to know how he feels about her? You know?"

Clearly Zatanna didn't – or, at least, she was having a hard time following her companion's train of thought. "Yes?" she finally ventured in a slightly hopeful tone, as if she wasn't entirely sure that was the correct answer.

"Exactly," Lois confirmed with a brisk nod of her head. Having begun to confess her problem, she realized it felt good to get it off her chest, so she continued. "So I was already pretty confused about Clark, and now I've started having these…um…these dreams. They're pretty…explicit."

Zatanna's eyebrows arched. "Explicit how?" she asked with a knowing glance that indicated she was pretty sure she already knew.

"Let's just say that Cinemax after Dark has _nothing _on my overactive imagination," she explained, sounding put-off at the thought. But I'm beginning to think that's the least of my problems."

"It is?" the question came with a good deal of surprise, as if it was amazing that someone could have greater problems than sexually explicit fantasies starring the man who worked across the desk from them.

"I've also been having these…this horrible feeling about the Blur. Like there's something important that I've forgotten. Something I need to say or to do…I've tried to figure out what it could be, but it's been weeks now and I don't have a clue where this feeling is coming from! It just keeps getting worse and worse…" Lois paused, remembering the letter he'd asked her to print in the paper, before she went away. Like he hadn't expected to ever come back. Leaning forward, she spoke her greatest fear aloud, each word slow and deliberate. "But I can't help but feel like if I don't figure it out – and soon – something terrible is going to happen. Something worse than anyone can even imagine. That's insane, right? So why can't I shake this horrible feeling?"

Silence fell between them as Zatanna threw her a sympathetic look. "I don't know," she finally said. "Have you tried talking to him about it?"

Lois shook her head. "No," she admitted. "The thing is, I went away for a while, apparently. I don't really remember any of it, but I lost three weeks of my life. But when I got back…he was different. I mean, he still calls me like he used to – and the way he talks to me, I know it's not that he's trying to avoid me or anything. But he's…different. Talking to him, he's not the same as he used to be. He sounds so…like he lost hope, or faith in other people, or something like that. Like part of him has given up. And it breaks my heart.

"You know what I think? I think he doesn't realize how much he means to m – to the world," she corrected herself hastily. "I wish there was some way he _could _know, because I think if he really knew what we think of him – how much we need him and how grateful that we are that he's there – I think…I don't know, I think maybe it would help."

Lois finished with a sigh and sat back in her chair. As she shifted positions, she could swear it looked like Zatanna's eyes sparkled under the harsh fluorescent lights. In a moment, though, her eyes were back to normal and the look on her face gave no indication that anything strange had occurred. Rising slowly to her feet, she grabbed her purse. "You never know, Lois. Maybe you'll get your wish somehow."

With a flick of her wrist, Zatanna presented a card to the woman still seated behind her desk. "Anyway, I have to go; I'm running late. But I owe you for this morning. If you ever need anything, give me a call."

Taking the card, Lois looked up at her companion with an arch expression. "I thought magic wasn't about card tricks," she said with a smile.

"Well…not all of it is," Zatanna admitted and winked as she turned to go.

Leaning back in her chair, Lois gazed speculatively at the brightly colored card in her hand. "Weird girl," she finally muttered to herself, slipping the card into her desk drawer with a sigh. She'd wasted enough time this morning; it was time to get to work.

Clark whistled softly under his breath as he pulled his truck into his parking space and jumped out. Generally, he didn't have to deal with the problem of parking – he just ran to work at super speed. However, he didn't want Lois to get too suspicious about how he made the commute from Smallville to Metropolis without the use of a car, and so he tried to drive in every once and a while just to forestall any suspicions on her part.

His stride was easy-going as he strolled towards the Planet, stopping briefly to buy a Danish and a cup of coffee on the way. As he passed by Al's news stand, he stopped and picked up a paper, throwing the newspaper vendor a smile as he handed over the money to pay for his purchases.

He was just about to wish Al a good morning when he heard a woman's voice behind him. _//Hello, gorgeous. Now that ass was worth getting out of bed this morning!//_

"Excuse me?" he blurted, whirling around in surprise. Normally, he'd let a comment like that go, but it had startled him and he'd reacted without thinking.

The woman behind him raised her eyes to his face and looked puzzled. "What?"

Throwing her a suspicious look, he asked cautiously, "What did you just say?"

"I didn't say anything," she answered with a slight confused frown.

"Oh. Sorry. Never mind, then," he said, feeling sheepish as he turned around and grabbed his paper. Apparently, he'd been mistaken.

_//Damn. And he's just as fine from the front as he is from the back. What were you thinking, letting him walk away? You should have asked for his number! Too late now, I guess…but watching him walk away provides a hell of a view.//_

Throwing a startled look behind him, Clark sped up, feeling suddenly self-conscious about the fit of his black trousers.

He was still mulling over the unusual incident as he walked into the Daily Planet's bullpen, but he saw Lois seated at her desk, looking through some papers, and he smiled. "Morning, Lois," he said as he walked up to his desk, and though he tried to keep his tone strong and even, there was a betraying softness in his voice.

"Hey," she said in greeting, not bothering to look up as she looked around at the floor surrounding her desk. "Damn it! Where'd I leave that paper?" A second later, she winced. "Oh. Right."

With a grimace, she glanced up, saw the paper in his hand, and jumped to her feet. "Thanks, Smallville!" she said brightly as she snatched it from him.

"No problem, Lois," he said dryly on a sigh. "Guess I should be grateful you left me the Danish. This time."

She snorted and took her seat again. "I would'nt have, but you know I don't like their cheese. The strawberry ones are better."

Taking his seat, he put his Danish aside, suddenly not terribly interested in it. "I'll bear that in mind the next time I want to have my breakfast stolen."

To his disappointment, she didn't respond. Instead, she just flipped open the paper and started rifling through it while he turned his attention to checking his e-mail. _//No new stories on the Blur. Damn it! Though I guess I shouldn't complain because if there were going to be any, I'm going to be the one writing them.//_

"Lois, you don't own the rights to reporting news of the Blur," he said with a tinge of amusement in his voice as he glanced around his computer screen at her. "Other people can write on him too."

"I know!" she cried defensively. "I was just…curious to know if there was anything new out on him." He chuckled and turned his attention back to his computer screen just in time to hear her say, _//Like, you know, his name, age, phone number, and any indication of whether he's single.//_

Clark's hands froze over the computer keyboard and he sucked in a sharp breath. He'd suspected Lois had a crush on the Blur for a while now, but given the moment they'd shared not too long before in her apartment – not to mention the incredibly graphic fantasies he'd been entertaining with her as the featuring participant – he was surprised she'd talk with him about it like this. "Lois, I'm pretty sure if anyone figured out who the Blur was, you'd be the first to know."

She sounded slightly surprised as she replied, "I know. Of course I would! I'd be the one doing the figuring out!" Her surprise changed to irritation as she continued, "Now, are we going to spend the morning talking about the Blur, or are we going to work on my story?"

"Our story," he corrected her mechanically as he deleted a spam e-mail advertising the latest breakthrough in the battle for thick, lustrous hair.

"My story," she replied equally as quickly, and he heard her rise to her feet. _//He's wearing the dark red shirt today. God, he looks good in that color.//_

"You really think so?" he asked in surprise, his gaze shooting up to her face, his e-mail correspondence completely forgotten in that moment.

Arching her eyebrows at him, she perched on the edge of his desk and looked down at him. "That it's my story? Absolutely!"

He shook his head slowly. "No. The – the other thing."

"Other thing?" she prompted, the look of confusion on her face a little too good to be faked.

If he didn't know for a fact that there was nothing wrong with his hearing, Clark would be tempted to race off to get it checked. "About…my shirt?"

"What about your shirt?" she asked, sounding vaguely bored as she picked up his Danish and took a bite.

_//Lane and Kent are at it again. Man, I wouldn't mind being stuck on an overnight stakeout with her. I wonder if Kent's ever had the guts to try to make a pass at her. Probably not. Though I would be all over that if I had a chance!//_

"Hey!" Clark blurted angrily, jumping to his feet and glaring around as he tried to identify the perpetrator of the offensive comment. Though a number of people looked startled, he couldn't figure out who had spoken.

"You okay, Clark?" Lois asked in concern as she dusted off her hands and cocked her head to the side, throwing him a considering look. "You look…" _//Amazing.//_ "Weird."

There it was again. He had distinctly heard her say 'amazing' but he'd been watching her lips as she spoke this time, and he'd seen that she hadn't actually said the word. Was his imagination playing tricks on him? He'd already been having fairly graphic fantasies involving Lois; was his love struck brain now veering into the realm of auditory hallucinations now, as well?

As he lowered himself slowly back into his chair, his eyes darted around desperately in search of an explanation for the rather alarming turn of events. There had to be some explanation for what he was hearing. Could his nights of sleep deprivation finally be catching up with him?

"No, seriously, Clark, are you feeling okay? You really don't look well," Lois continued, the concern in her voice growing sharper.

"I-I'm fine," he said feebly as she leaned forward and pressed her palm against his forehead.

"Hm. Well, you're a little warm, but I don't know if that's unusual. You always feel a little warm to me," she muttered as if to herself. "It's a little warm down here, I guess. Maybe you just need to cool off a bit." She reached for him again, giving a quick tug to his tie to loosen the knot. "I can get you some wat–"

Saying her name, he reached up and grabbed hold of her hand, his eyes locking onto hers.

_"Lois." With a coy smile, she scooted over on the desk, the friction causing her skirt to inch up, exposing a tantalizing glimpse of bare thigh._

_"I thought you needed help with a story," she said playfully as she deliberately moved again, causing the skirt to inch up even further. "Change your mind?"_

_"Not at all," he breathed, wrapping his hand around her thigh just below the line of her skirt. With a gentle tug, he pulled her closer to the edge of the desk and fingered at the strip of black cloth above his hand. "I'm looking for…inspiration."_

_Lois lifted first one foot and then the other, placing them deliberately on the seat of Clark's chair on either side of his body, pinning him between her legs. "Oh?" she taunted him with a mischievous grin. "And what kind of…inspiration…did you have in mind?"_

_He braced her thighs in his hands and slowly ran his fingers up the length of her leg to her hip, hiking up the bottom of the skirt as he traced his path upwards. "I'll let you know when I find it," he taunted her in turn. His breathing was rabid, his heart racing as his exploration unveiled inch by inch of her body. As he hooked his fingers under the strap of her panties, she lifted her hips off the desk so that he could slide them slowly down her legs._

_She was bending towards him, and he leaned in for a kiss, but she pulled inches away from him before he could make contact. He leaned towards her further still, and she pulled away again, her eyes teasing him as she licked her lips in an invitation that was impossible to ignore. "Ah, ah!" she chided him. "You should know better than that, Smallville. Here at the Planet, if you want something…you'll have to work for it."_

_"I'll bear that in mind," he said, jumping to his feet. Her legs dropped at the sudden movement, and her panties fell unheeded to the floor. It was his turn to have the upper hand, and he braced his hands on either side of her body as he leaned towards her until he could feel the soft caress of her breath against his face. "But you know, I'm still pretty new at this. I may need someone to…teach me how it's done." With one hand, he lifted her hair off her neck as he deftly unbuttoned her shirt with the other._

_"I guess I might be willing to walk you through it," she replied, undoing the knot of his tie a vicious yank. As the folds of her blouse parted underneath his hand, she pulled off the silky swath of tie and gripped it between her fists. Then she threw it behind his neck again, using it to pull him towards her until their lips met._

_His lips devoured hers as she slipped her tongue into his mouth, her breath coming in short gasps. With one arm, he swiped the top of his desk clear as he leaned her back onto the flat panel of wood._

_"Whaddya know?" she murmured against his mouth as she released her hold on his tie so that it fell to the ground next to her panties. "You're a fast learner."_

_"I aim to please," he growled, bowing his head and licking the cleft between her breasts as his fingers cupped her, tracing a pattern along the lacy edge of her black bra._

_With a gasp, Lois arched against him, her neck curving as her head fell back. "Oh, I hope so," she moaned, and then her moan became a sigh of pleasure when he turned his head to suck her nipple into his mouth, dampening the fabric of her bra with his tongue. "Is that a promise, Smallville?"_

"Earth to Clark! Hello Clark!" Lois said loudly, waving her hand in front of his face.

"It's a promise!" he blurted, his eyes shooting to her face. His fantasy from the night before faded, leaving him flushed and embarrassed – and giving him no other alternative than to lunge for a pad of paper on his desk. Using it to quickly shield his lap, he hoped Lois's observant eyes hadn't noticed the biological reaction he was trying rather desperately to hide. "I mean…uh…what?"

She was looking at him like she had serious doubts about his mental health. "You okay, there, Smallville? I coulda sworn I lost you there for a minute. What were you thinking about?"

He fervently hoped he wasn't blushing when he lied badly, "Oh, I was…nothing. Just…um…I was thinking about something I have to take care of. Later. By myself." When he realized the possible double meaning of the excuse he had given, he could feel the blood rush to his face and he grimaced, thankful that Lois, at least, could have no idea of the unintended double meaning of his words.

"Right. Okay. Well. That's…weird. But pretty much par for the course when it comes to you," she said with a shrug. But her eyes were still locked intently on his face as silence fell between them. _//The way you were looking at me a minute ago…I could almost swear…//_

There it was again! He was once more hearing something he knew she hadn't said. At this point, he figured that either he was having some sort of psychotic break or there was something strange going on. Before he could piece what exactly that might be together, he heard it again.

_//Could that look he gave me really meant what I thought it meant? Damn it, Lane, are you going to do something about it or aren't you? Stop being so chickenshit and just do it!//_

"Come with me," she said abruptly, grabbing his hand. When she pulled him to his feet, he fumbled with the notebook in his hand and would have dropped it if it hadn't been for his abilities. "You can leave that here."

He didn't dare, since his 'problem' had by no means entirely abated just yet. "Uh…actually, I'd like to keep it," he said with as much confidence as he could muster, though even to his ears it didn't sound like much. "I need to go over a few notes…" She merely shrugged at his lame excuse and whirled, dragging him away from his desk. "Uh…Lois? Where are we going?"

"I need to talk to you," she said in explanation. "Privately. Away from a bunch of reporters."

Since he'd already come to grips with the simple reality that he would allow this woman to drag him anywhere in the world she wanted to go, as long as it meant he would be by her side, he didn't protest as she headed towards and empty office that had not long before belonged to the city editor who had since transferred jobs. Propelling him inside, she shut the door behind the two of them and then looked up at him with a grave expression on her face. She didn't say a word.

When the silence stretched to uncomfortable lengths, Clark cleared his throat and asked, "Um, Lois? What did you want to talk about?"

She didn't answer him right away, but still he heard her speak. _//God, he's looking at you like you're from Mars or something. Don't just stand there; say something! … But what if you blow it? What if he's really not over Lana? He said it was hard for him to move on after they broke up. How can you be sure he knows what he wants? How can you be sure it's you? How can you be sure that HE can be sure it's you? Oh, shut up, Lois. You're only making it worse.//_

That was when he realized. He wasn't imagining things, and he wasn't hearing voices. He was hearing _thoughts_. Her thoughts, to be more precise. And apparently other people's thoughts, too, if the incident in the bullpen and at the newsstand were any indication. Was that a new power he had? The ability to hear thoughts?

His stomach sank at the very idea. The discovery of each of his powers had been – in their own way – incredible. He still remembered the thrill and the fear he'd felt when he'd first developed his heat vision. But this…this was totally different. He supposed it could be thrilling. Even helpful, as it might allow him to determine a crime was going to be committed even before it got underway.

But it was also terrible. Lois was such a guarded person. So private. Hard to get close to, reluctant to give her trust freely. It had taken him years, but he'd finally gotten close to her. Finally convinced her to let him in. But this. Hearing her thoughts. It felt like a violation, this ability to take something from her that she wasn't willing to freely give. She was a woman who lived her day-to-day life barricaded behind impenetrable emotional defenses, and without the slightest effort, he could knock those walls down and reveal sides of herself that she kept hidden, even from him.

He wanted to know Lois, to know those private things she thought to herself in the night, in the dark, when she thought she was alone. But he wanted to know those things because she had decided she wanted to share them with him, not because his abilities allowed him to eavesdrop on thoughts that weren't his to hear.

His revelation was so huge, so incredible for even him to believe, that he didn't react at first. He simply stared at her in shock that grew to a dawning horror as he realized that he had to get away from her as quickly as possible. And then he would have to stay away from her for however long it took for him to get his newest ability under his control.

But Lois, who did not have the ability to read his thoughts as he could read hers, spoke before he could think of an adequate excuse and duck out of the room. _//Moment of truth, Lois.//_

"Clark," she croaked. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "Clark, um, I've been doing some – some thinking. About that coffee date. And I think that…I'm ready. I mean, I want to have it. With you. A date. If you're still interested, that is."

He groaned inwardly as he heard her confession. They were the words he had wanted to hear for what felt like an eternity, and yet she couldn't have picked a worse moment to share them. He couldn't go out with her, not until he got this new ability of his under control. But he knew her; he knew that if he turned her down now, she would erect steel bars in that emotional wall of hers, and she would never let him through.

He opened his mouth, so tempted to say yes. Desperate to say yes. But then he heard her thoughts again.

_//Oh, god. He hasn't said anything yet. That can't be a good sign. No, look at the way he's looking at you. Lois, you idiot! Why did you have to do this? … Why isn't he saying something? Is it me? Is there something wrong with me?//_

She was intensely private when it came to her innermost feelings, but her own mind was betraying her just by her thinking them. He couldn't accept her offer now. To hear the innermost thoughts that she had not agreed – and would not wish – for him to hear would be the worst kind of violation. He simply couldn't do that to her.

"I can't," he said heavily. Then, before she could start breaking out the steel and reinforcing her wall, he added hastily, "I mean, I can't yet. I have…something I have to take care of first. I'm sorry."

Her smile was a fraction too wide, a shade too bright, to be genuine. "Oh, yeah. Sure! No problem, Clark! I was just…I mean, it was just a thought. We'll get coffee some other time. In fact, why do we really need to go get coffee anyway? We can get it free here, even if it's not the best." She started nodding her head up and down, so eager to convince him that she was unfazed by his rejection that she almost looked like a bobble-head doll.

"Anyway, I'd better get back to work now. Those stories don't write themselves!" she said, brushing past him to get to the door.

"Lois," he said, throwing an arm in front of her to stop her in her tracks. "Wait, please. You don't understand."

Squaring her shoulders, she dragged her gaze up to his face to meet his eyes, and his heart ached to see the shadow of tears she was trying hard not to shed. "I understand, Clark. It's okay." Her voice dropped a half an octave and wavered from the force of her feelings as she repeated. "I understand." _//You don't want me.//_ The bald statement of what she perceived to be fact, so straight-forward and unequivocal, broke his heart in two.

"No, it's not that at all," he said as forcefully as he could. "It's just that…I have to go. There's something I have to take care of. I can't explain it to you, and I'm sorry, but…it's for the best, really. Look, can we talk about this when I – later? Can I call you later?"

Her smile grew brittle from the effort of holding it in place for so long. "Yeah, sure, Clark! Go take care of…whatever it is you've gotta race away to take care of. Don't worry about me; I'll be fine." Stepping back, she flung her arm towards the door in a magnanimous gesture, inviting him to leave.

"I'm sorry," he said one last time, knowing his words weren't nearly enough. Turning, he yanked open the door with such force that he almost tore it off his hinges and stalked out of the office, filled with self-loathing at what he'd had to do.

Behind him, he could hear her ragged sigh, and though he tried not to listen in on them, he could hear her thoughts as well. _//There he goes. The King of Mixed Signals strikes again. And once more, you're bouncing off that emotional force field of his. When are you going to learn, Lois, that he is never going to let you in? He says he cares about you, that he's scared to lose you. But then he just keeps pushing you away, doesn't he? I guess he's realized that losing you doesn't really matter all that much to him, after all.//_

Though he knew he should leave, put as much distance between himself and Lois as possible until he could find a way to keep from hearing her innermost private thoughts, he couldn't just walk away, leave her with those thoughts. Leave her believing that he really didn't care about her.

Very slowly, he turned to look at her over his shoulder. She was still standing inside the empty office, the door cracked just far enough for him to see. She'd lifted her hands to her face, hiding her features behind the palms pressed tightly to her eyes, but he could see that her shoulders were slumped in defeat, her breathing uneven as she tried to get a hold of herself so that she could hide her feelings from the world. _//He doesn't want you, Lois. When are you going to stop doing this to yourself time and time again and learn that simple fact? He doesn't want you.//_

Spinning around, Clark stalked back towards the office, his mind made up. He still had to leave, he had to keep his distance from her for just a little while. But he couldn't do it until he was certain that she believed him. He caught her in the doorway as she turned to walk back to her desk, and she looked up at him in surprise as he herded her back into the office, kicking the door shut behind him. Spinning her around, he pinned her against the wall, his palms pressed against the wall on either side of her body.

"Clark, what –?" she began, but he didn't let her finish the thought.

Grabbing her by the arms, he stared steadily into his eyes, willing her to believe him. "Lois, please believe me. If I had a choice, I would stay here with you right now. I want to go on that date with you more than I can say, more than I've wanted anything in a long time. You have no idea how hard this is for me. You're the only thing I think about lately. The only thing I dream about at night is…kissing you." His gaze fell to her lips, and he heard her suck in a sharp breath. His voice dropped to a husky timbre as he continued, "There is nothing – _nothing _– I want more than to say yes, but there is something I have to take care of first. I _have _to. Do you believe me?"

"Well, I – yes, I mean, of course I believe you, Clark!" she stammered, and the tip of her tongue flicked out and wetted her lower lip. "I already told you I understood."

He watched the pulse beat under her skin, the muscles of her neck tense as she swallowed nervously. "You said that, but you didn't really –"

He should walk away from her now, before he intruded on any more of her private thoughts. But having her right there in front of him – with that look in her eyes that he had dreamed of seeing for so long – he found he couldn't leave her so easily.

He breathed a word of defeat, and then, before he could think better of it, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him. For a second, he savored the feel of her body flush against his, a thousand times better than any fantasy, but it wasn't nearly enough. Bending his head, he kissed her, his lips hard and demanding against hers.

She gasped, and he swallowed the sound even as he took advantage of her surprise. He flicked the tip of his tongue against her lower lip and then, as her mouth parted under his, he swept his tongue between her teeth, deepening the kiss.

A groan rumbled in his chest as his arms flexed, holding her tight against him. He was hard and throbbing again, and he was certain she could feel the evidence of his arousal against her hip as he pressed against her. She moaned, a soft sound of pleasure that he could feel dance along his nerve endings, causing a shiver to shoot down his spine.

As the kiss deepened, his lips softened against hers. His mouth no longer captured hers in silent demand; instead, he used his lips to tease her. To coax a response out of her. His teeth scraped against her lower lip and he chuckled softly at the tiny sound she made.

Against his better judgment, he dropped his hands to her sides, bracing her hips between his palms. He should stop touching her, back away. He was pretty sure he'd made his point, allayed her greatest fears. But now that he had her in his arms, he was finding it almost impossible to let her go.

He could feel her hand fist in his hair as she wrapped her arm around his neck, pinning him to her as if he'd had even the slightest hope of breaking free from her spell anyway. Throwing his head back, he sucked in a deep breath as he slid his hands down to her thighs, lifting her weight easily.

Her legs wrapped around his waist as if they were made to hold him, and he stepped forward to pin her back against the wall. With a low, tortured groan, he thrust his hips forward, pressing the hardness of his erection against her. Lois rolled her hips, teasing him further, and he swallowed a curse.

"I want you, Lois," he growled, thrusting against her again and relishing her soft gasp as he pressed against her core. "Don't ever doubt how much I want you."

"Then stay with me," she demanded, her nails digging into the skin of his back through the thin fabric of his shirt. _//Don't stop. Whatever you do, don't stop.//_

Clark bent his head and licked the soft skin at the side of her neck. The silky strands of her hair tickled his nose as he nuzzled her earlobe, causing her to shiver. He lifted his hand to cup her cheek, and his thumb brushed against her lower lip. Lois nipped at the pad of his thumb and then parted her lips, sucking it into her mouth.

"I've thought about this, you know," he breathed into her ear, and she trembled in his arms. "Kissing you. I've dreamt of holding you like this. Touching you."

She arched against his hand when he cupped her breast, lifting its weight in his palm, and purred in the back of her throat._ //Oh, god, this is just like my dream. I thought I would never get to hold him like this.//_

Clark paused as he heard her thoughts and tilted his chin down, breathing heavily. She had dreamt about him? She had dreamt of this? While he was gratified to know he hadn't been alone in fantasizing about what the two of them together, he felt guilty that he'd found out this way. He'd done what he didn't want to do and discovered something with his new ability that Lois hadn't chosen to tell him herself.

Feeling like he was cheapening the moment by "cheating" so to speak with his abilities, Clark kissed Lois one more time and gently set her back on her feet. He desperately wanted to stay with her, perhaps take her somewhere more private and continue what they started. But he knew that if he continued to take advantage of the situation, he wouldn't be the man she deserved. "I wish I could stay here, Lois, but there's something I have to do. Just…you have to trust me when I say that I wouldn't be leaving right now if I didn't have to."

_//He's leaving? Right NOW? Why does this always happen just when I think I know where I stand with him? I swear, I will never understand Clark.//_ Breathing deeply, Lois sighed and stared searchingly at his face. Finally, she said slowly, "Okay, Clark. I won't lie and say I really understand, but I'll trust you. If whatever's going on with you right now is that important, then you should go do it. I'll cover for you here."

With his heart in the pit of his stomach, Clark turned and headed out the door. He'd finally had Lois in his arms – it was even better than it was in his most erotic fantasies. Having to leave her…he had to get control over his newest power immediately, because if he ever had to walk away from her like that again, he was pretty sure that it would kill him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Clark felt the need for some fresh air when he left the Planet, so he left his truck in its parking space and strolled down the sidewalk instead. He was only a few steps away from the revolving doors when he paused and looked back over his shoulder at the building. He was tempted to turn around and go back to the bullpen to finish what he'd started, and he kept having to remind himself of why he'd left. Lois would hate him if she ever found out that he had the ability to read her most private thoughts – particularly if he used them to get close to her romantically. No, he was doing the right thing, even if it was an incredibly difficult thing for him to do.

But having decided he had to get some control over his powers, he was at a loss as to what to do next. This wasn't entirely like the powers he'd developed when he was younger. At that moment, he missed his father even more than usual, because it had always been his dad who had helped him get a handle on his abilities in the past. What Clark wouldn't give to have his dad there with him now.

Of course, he could still go to his mother, but he was reluctant to do so. He doubted anyone would feel particularly comfortable being around him, knowing his latest ability. Even his mother, as much as she loved him and had never had any qualms about accepting him and his abilities, couldn't be blamed if she balked at the thought that he could read her mind. Beyond that, he couldn't forget that his mother was a Senator; the things he might accidentally overhear went beyond mere personal matters. Of course, he would never share anything he overheard or use it for his own purposes, but he still felt it would put her in an untenable situation.

He supposed he could go to Chloe instead, since he had no doubt that she would be willing to help him. However, he was as reluctant to do so as he was to go to his mother. Given the intensely personal nature of his newest ability, he doubted anyone would want around him right now. If the situation were different, he knew he wouldn't want to be around someone who could read his mind – even if his secret wouldn't be on the line. Just walking down the street, he realized how many thoughts he was hearing in passing – thoughts he had no doubt the thinkers would want anyone to hear.

Right now, he had to get away from people. All people. At least until he had enough control over his newest ability that he could filter the thoughts he heard a bit, make him slightly less dangerous to be around. Turning down an alley, he ducked out of sight and then started to run, using his super speed to race back to the farm. He'd come back for his truck later; for right now, he really just needed to be alone to do some thinking.

Lois went through the rest of the day with a smile on her face. Granted, she still had no clue what to make of Clark's behavior – and she was still frustrated that he'd gotten her fairly wound up before leaving her. But while he'd left her with a hundred more questions than she had yesterday, he'd kissed her. Hell, he'd almost taken her against the wall of an empty office inside the Planet, which in retrospect was probably a foolish thing for the two of them to have done. He'd kissed her like she'd dreamed of him kissing her. He'd kissed her like he wanted her. He'd kissed her…and then he'd left her.

She scowled at the thought before firmly pushing it from her mind. After endless nights spent dreaming about Clark kissing her, she was determined to enjoy the fact that he'd actually done it for a full 24 hours before cold harsh reality stepped in and the doubts resurfaced.

He'd kissed her, and he'd told her that he'd dreamt of her, just as she had for him. With that reminder, her lips curved up into what she suspected was a slightly goofy smile. Happily, only the coffee pot was in a position to see such an un-Loisy expression on her face, and it wasn't telling anyone.

Spooning a couple lumps of sugar into her cup, she turned to peruse that morning's generally-dubious selection of pastries. Stale doughnuts and burnt coffee…god, she loved her job. Just the smell of either of those things reminded her of an endless series of nights spent sweating blood over her next big story. If the Planet ever sprung for higher quality coffee (or, heaven forbid, genuinely fresh donuts from a quality bakery), she thought she'd cry. At the very least, she'd have to put together some sort of formal protest.

Hmm…there were two doughnuts left – one of the rightly-scorned cream filled variety, and the other a powdered doughnut that had clearly seen better days – and quite a few of them, at that. Neither looked particularly appealing to her, but staring at the powdered doughnut, she grinned, knowing Clark would be the first to grab it. And if he were here, she would let him do so, if only because there was something boyishly endearing about the way he looked with powdered sugar dusting his lips. Or perhaps because she was always so tempted to lick the sugar off.

_Lois tilted her head and bent, pressing her mouth against his. Her tongue flicked against his lips, prompting him to open his mouth under hers. He tasted like chocolate. Chocolate and champagne – his gifts to her for what he'd called their last dinner together. But she didn't want to think about that now; she didn't want to think about tomorrow._

_His hands reached for her, sliding under the silky fabric of the nightgown he'd found for her to rest against her bare skin. As the fabric snagged on his wrists and lifted, she sucked in a breath, anticipating a blast of cold air. She should be cold. But she wasn't._

_"Wait," he breathed, pulling away. "Are you sure about this, Lois? I told you, I'm not the same man I used to be."_

_He'd told her that. He'd told her he was different, that he'd all but forgotten the life he'd once led. But he also told her that he'd dreamt of her, that he'd longed to hear the sound of her laugh. And looking into his eyes, she knew that he may not recognize the man he was any longer, but she recognized him._

_"Yes," she said, lowering herself into his lap. "I'm sure."_

_He cupped her cheek in his palm, brushing her hair back, staring into her eyes. "My god, you never change, do you, Lois?" Though his words were demanding, uttered almost in exasperation, they weren't accusatorily so. "How can you always be so sure about everything?"_

_She grinned, resting her palms against his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin. The racing beat of his heart. "Because you may not know who you are, but I do. You're Clark. My Clark. All the brooding in the world doesn't change that."_

_He chuckled, the sound muffled against her skin as he kissed the curve of her shoulder. With his fingertips, he pushed the straps of her nightgown aside until it fell around her hips. She caught her breath at the ease with which he lifted her and pulled off her nightgown before laying her back in bed._

_"My Lois. Always so brave, so fearless," he breathed, lying down next to her. Wrapping her in his arms, he pulled her against him. "What would I do without you?"_

_His question was rhetorical, but it was a painful reminder of what the morning would bring. Her cheek pressed against his chest as his hand stroked her thigh in a soft and soothing pattern. "I don't want to lose you," she whispered against his skin, and though nobody should have been able to hear her, he did._

_"You won't lose me," he spoke, his words soft. "I've always been there for you, and I always will be."_

With a shake of her head, Lois pulled herself out of her thoughts, perturbed to realize that the kiss she'd shared with Clark that morning hadn't put a stop to her recurring erotic fantasies of him. Rather, they were all the clearer now for the fact that they were no longer entirely the stuff of fantasies. It was deeply disconcerting; would her wicked imagination never leave her alone?

Muttering at herself in mild disgust, she reached for the slightly more acceptable powdered doughnut when a hand swooped in from the left and snatched it out from under her fingers. She looked up at the pilferer in surprise, having not even noticed anyone was there.

Ron paused, the doughnut halfway to his mouth, his eyes locked with hers. Then, with an expression of a rabbit staring down a predator, he slowly lowered the doughnut. "Uh…hey, Lois. Sorry, were you reaching for his?" he offered, holding it out to her.

She could either take it from him or go without, and most days, she probably would do the former. But today, she was in such a good mood that she was feeling downright charitable. Clearly, that would have to pass soon, but for the moment, she didn't mind indulging. "No, it's okay. You can keep it," she said sweetly, swiping her coffee off the counter and turning towards her desk.

Ron looked down at the doughnut in his hand and followed after her. "Why? Is there something wrong with it?" She shook her head. "Someone dropped it on the floor, didn't they?"

If only it were Clark. If it were Clark, she'd snatch the doughnut out of his hand and take a big bite, just to show him that there was nothing wrong with it. And then she might give it back to him or she might not, depending on her mood. But since Ron wasn't Clark, she didn't. She just chuckled at the thought of the look on Clark's face if she were to do such a thing.

Unfortunately, her companion took her laugh the wrong way. "Man, I knew it!" he groused as he tossed the doughnut into the trash and huffed off towards his desk.

Her eyebrows arched in bemusement, Lois stared down at the doughnut for a second before turning back towards her desk. She didn't even get two feet closer to her destination when she had to stop or she'd run straight into Ollie.

"So what'd you do to his doughnut?" he asked, grinning down at her.

Scooting around him, Lois shrugged. "Nothing. There was honestly nothing wrong with it. I'm just in a good mood, is all. What are you doing here?" she asked, a little more sharply than she intended.

He followed her back to her desk. "It's been a while since we've talked…and I wanted to apologize for my behavior the last time we saw each other."

She considered his words, remembering the incident. She'd gone to him for help, needing the assistance of a hero and unable to get a hold of the Blur. And he'd been a drunken idiot. "You were an ass," she pointed out as a simple matter of fact.

"I know," he admitted gravely. "Allow me to make it up to you?"

Leaning back in her chair, she stared steadily at him. "What'd you have in mind?" she asked finally.

"Let me buy you a cup of coffee," he offered with a nod at the mug in her hand. "Something better than that, at least. I can smell how burned it is from here!"

With a small scowl, she protested, "Hey, I happen to like the coffee here!" Then, as if to prove her point, she took a big sip and almost immediately regretted it. It didn't just taste burnt (a taste she had long since acquired), but it had clearly been marinating in the pot since at least the last presidential administration. "Ugh," she said with a shudder as she put the mug down on her desk, as far away from her as she could get it. Come to think of it, Ollie's offer was starting to look pretty darn appealing.

There wasn't much she could do at her desk at the moment, anyway, since she was just waiting around waiting for some people to get back to her with information for her next story. "All right, you're on," she decided as she jumped to her feet. After she grabbed her purse, she turned to find Jeff at her elbow, as if he'd materialized there. She didn't know how he always seemed to know when she needed him, but she had to admit it was occasionally useful. "I'm going out for a bit," she told him. "If anyone calls for me, forward their calls to my cell phone."

"No problem, Miss Lane," he said readily, looking absurdly pleased at the chance to do something for her. When he'd first been assigned as her intern, she'd thought his eagerness to please indicated some sort of mildly disturbing crush, but she'd come to realize that it was just a part of his personality. If he'd had a tail, she'd halfway have been expecting him to be wagging it.

"C'mon, Ollie," she said. "But I'm not going to let you off so easily. You owe me lunch at the very least."

An hour later, Lois pushed her plate aside and sat back in her chair with a satisfied smile. Before the sound of her sigh had even faded, a waiter appeared and poured her a cup of strong, black coffee that was so good, she almost moaned in pleasure at the first sip.

"So, am I out of the dog house yet?" her companion asked, and though his words were uttered with a smile, she could see genuine worry behind his eyes.

"That depends," she responded readily. "Did you get all the 'jackass' out of your system?"

He winced at her remark but took the barb without protest. "I hope so," he admitted softly. "I know I haven't been a very good friend to you lately, Lois. To anyone, really. And…I'm sorry about that."

Linking her hands over her stomach, she tilted her head and regarded him gravely. "What happened to you, Ollie?"

He sighed. "I made some mistakes last year. Did some things I regret. Instead of doing something about it, I indulged in self-pity, and I guess I kind of lost sight of myself for a while." Meeting her eyes, he said gravely, "I know I let you down, though, and for that I really am sorry."

Lois shrugged. "It's okay," she said softly. "As it turns out, I found my hero."

"Your mission to track down the Blur has been going well, I take it?" he asked likely, taking a sip of his own coffee.

With a grin, she admitted, "He calls me every so often, yeah."

"And how have things been going with Clark?" he asked, staring at her intently.

That was a harder question to answer, and she didn't do so right away. The last time she'd talked to Ollie about her feelings for Clark had been at Chloe's wedding, and so had happened since then. Not the least of which had happened – or almost happened – that morning at the Planet. "It's…complicated," she finally said slowly.

"I guessed that by how long it took you to answer. You want to talk about it?" he offered. She didn't answer right away, and he reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "I know I haven't been there for you lately, Lois, but I want to be there for you now. If you'll let me."

She paused reluctantly for another minute and then she caved. "The thing about Clark…it's hard to explain. Of course, you know about what happened at – at the wedding. And then after that, he was just so…he was hard to get close to. Impossible, even. And I really thought he didn't care about that. I thought I was fine with that, but then…

"Lately, I've been…well, I've realized that I'm not as okay with everything between Clark and I as I thought I was. I thought that was it, that there wasn't anything I could do about it, but then he came to me and we talked. I guess he was just confused about Lana, which I guess I can understand after everything that had happened between the two of them. But I realized if he was still that confused, I didn't want to be in the middle of that. I mean, if Clark wasn't absolutely sure that he wanted to be with me, then I was better off without him."

She was rambling and she knew it, but she supposed Ollie knew her better than she thought because he didn't stop her. He simply sat there in silence, taking it all in, and by his quiet confidence, she wondered if somehow he understood more than she thought he did. "So that's it?" he prompted when she stopped talking.

Sucking her lower lip between her teeth, she shook her head slowly. "No, that's not all. I thought it was, but then this morning, he came into work, and he…he kissed me." She didn't say any more, figuring a heavily edited version of events would more than suffice. The last thing she wanted was to explain to her ex how she'd had her thighs around another man's hips just a few hours before. With a sigh, she finished her story. "And then he left. Abruptly."

"And now you're confused about what that means," he suggested, leaning slightly toward her.

"Well, yeah, how could I not be?" she asked as she swiped her bangs out of her eyes. "I mean, it's all hot and cold with Clark. When he's hot he's…" she paused, editing the last of that sentence to minimize potential humiliation. Speaking quickly, she hastily added, "But then all of a sudden he'll put up this wall between us and it's like I don't matter to him at all."

"Didn't he explain where he was going when he left?" Ollie asked.

Lois grimaced. "Yeah, he did. Well, not really. He told me there was something he had to take care of, and then he left." With a disgusted sigh, she swiped her finger along the rim of her mug and groused, "I know how to pick 'em, don't I?" With a pointed look at her companion, she added, "I mean, it's not like this is the first time a guy I've liked has run off every time things got interesting. Of course, you did it to indulge in your leather fetish, unlike Clark, but –"

She paused when Ollie choked on his coffee and waited until his wheezes had stopped and he regained control of himself. "You okay?" she asked as he wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"Yeah. Wrong pipe," he muttered. "Anyway, you were saying?"

Shrugging, she said, "No, that was pretty much it. I just don't know what to make of it. I mean, does he really care about me at all? I thought he did this morning. I was sure of it, in fact. But this isn't the first time that I thought that, and it's not the first time he's run off on me, either."

"Lois, I know you and Clark haven't had the easiest time of it, but I'm sure he cares about you. I have no doubt about it. If he kissed you and left without explaining why, I'm sure it was for a good reason."

"Then why couldn't he explain it to me?" Lois asked. "Did he think I wouldn't understand? Unless he left because of…Lana. You think this is about Lana, isn't it?" she demanded, the expensive lunch she'd just consumed resting heavily in her stomach. "That's why he left in a hurry and couldn't tell me where he was going. He's still confused about his feelings for Lana!"

"Now, wait, Lois, don't jump to conclusions –" he began, jumping up when she huffed in irritation and shot to her feet. Not letting him continue, she turned and skirted around the nearby table as she headed towards the exit to the outdoor patio. Behind her, Ollie paused just long enough to throw some bills down on the table to cover their meal, and then he hurried after her. "Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself?" he asked as he came up behind her. "You don't have any reason to suspect –"

"No, except for the fact that this isn't the first time that this has happened," she snapped irritably. "How many times do you think I have to get ditched for her before I catch on to the way things are between us?"

Even with his long stride, he had to walk quickly to keep up with her. "Just because that's what happened in the past doesn't mean that's what's happening now," he pointed out.

"Oh, yeah?" she demanded, whirling on him. "So what's your suggestion? What do you think Clark's doing that he had to leave in the middle of…" she paused and flushed, "Kissing me? What do you think was _so _important that he couldn't even wait ten minutes, but he couldn't explain it to me?"

Taken by surprise and put on the spot, Ollie clearly didn't know how to answer. "He could have had…um…a dentist appointment?" he offered feebly. When she rolled her eyes and continued to storm away, he cursed under her breath and followed. "Or not," he muttered.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Lois fumed as she stormed her way back to the Planet, muttering darkly under her breath all the while. Though Ollie followed and tried to calm her down, she ignored him. Instead, she thought of all the things she was going to do to Clark when she got a hold of him.

"Lois, would you please calm down and listen to me?" Ollie demanded in exasperation as she headed to her car.

She paused when she saw Clark's truck parked two spots down from her car. "She _picked him up?_" she screeched loud enough to shatter glass. "That slutty little two-timing squirrel came by _my _newspaper and _picked him up?_" She was so livid that she was actually shaking. "Oh, that's it! I'm going to find him, and if that bitchy little sluttyana has her lips anywhere close to his, I'm gonna pull her off him and I'm gonna –" Her tirade cut off as she jumped into her car, her tires squealing in protest when she pulled out of the parking spot.

Behind her, Ollie sighed and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "Come on, Clark. Pick up…" he muttered as Clark's phone rang again and again.

Clark had spent the last few hours walking around the farm, enjoying the peaceful solitude. Eventually, he made his way back to the barn and sat on a bale of hay. With his eyes closed, he breathed deeply and tried to concentrate on his newest ability. Of course, without someone else there, he had no way of knowing if he was gaining control of it or not. But he didn't want to intrude on someone's thoughts just to test his progress, either.

He didn't know how long he'd sat there, but dusk was falling when he heard a car pull up in his driveway fast enough to skid against the gravel. Curious to know who would be visiting him, he stood and walked to the door.

He supposed he should have been surprised to see Lois jump out of her car, but he wasn't. He further supposed he should be chagrined to see her, since he wasn't sure yet that it was safe to do so. But he couldn't deny how good it felt to have her in front of him again, and he crossed his arms over his chest and rested against the doorjamb, smiling warmly at her.

She did not look as pleased to see him. "Where is she?" she demanded, slamming her door and storming angrily towards him. "Did she run out of here when she saw me coming? Is she hiding? Oh, she better be, if she knows what's good for her!"

Straightening abruptly, Clark frowned down at her in confusion. "Is who hiding?" he asked. And then he heard her thought again, which made him grimace, both at the fact that his ability to read thoughts had not yet been mastered and because of the nature of the thoughts in question. _//Damn it, Clark, how could you do this to me? Why do I always come second to Lana?//_ "Wait, you think Lana is here?"

"Hah! I knew it!" she crowed, though the expression on her face was infinitely more sad than triumphant. "If this wasn't about Lana, how would you know I was talking about her, huh?" He opened his mouth to respond, but she brushed past him, storming into the barn. "Lana, are you here? Hiding out in the barn like a little troll?"

Clark followed after her. "Lois, calm down. Lana's not here. Why would you think she was?"

She whirled on him, and he was tempted to take a step back. Though he hated to see her upset, part of him noted how beautiful she looked as she raged, "You know exactly why I think Lana's here! You come into work, you kiss me, and then you leave, just like that! Again! And you left your truck at work, so how'd you get home, if Lana didn't drive you? Hell, even Ollie thinks that you're here with her!"

"Look, I know you're angry, but –" he tried, but she wasn't listening.

Poking him in the chest repeatedly with her finger, she continued angrily, "No, you know what? I don't care! You wish I cared, but I don't! You can be with Lana all you want! Go ahead and have sex with her until you both pass out from exhaustion for all I care!" _//Just stop hurting me like this.//_ "But how dare you use me like that, Clark? I can't believe you would do that to me!"

Clark grabbed her hand to forestall another vicious poke to his chest and held it firmly, being careful not to hurt her. "I wouldn't," he said in quiet certainty. "I didn't. Lois, Lana's not here. She wasn't here. I didn't leave because of her."

"Oh, yeah, right. So what was it? A life-altering dentist appointment?" she huffed, trying to pull her hand away but he wouldn't let it go.

Clark didn't know what to tell her. He couldn't possibly tell her the truth; how would he explain it? But it was getting increasingly hard for him to lie to her – not because he necessarily thought she was about to uncover his secret but because he was starting to wish that she would.

Unfortunately, he waited too long to come up with an acceptable excuse, because she yanked her hand out of his grip, her expression both angry and wounded when she looked up at him. "Yeah, right. It's the same old story, again and again." _//And you fall for it every time.//_

With a disgusted sound she turned and stormed out of the barn, heading back towards her car. "I'm done with this, Clark. I'm sick of constantly wondering where I stand with you. If you can't even talk to me, I don't know what I'm doing here."

He was about to lose her, and he knew that if he let her leave now, he would never get her back. The kisses they'd shared, the little intimate moments the two of them had stolen, the passion he'd felt between them – they would all end right here in his front yard.

"Wait, Lois!" he called after her, but her stride didn't so much as falter. "You don't understand! This doesn't have anything to do with you!" She wasn't listening, so he raced after her and yelled, "I can hear people's thoughts!"

That got her attention because she stumbled to a halt and looked at him over her shoulder as if she thought he was insane. "You can what?" she asked, and he could tell that she couldn't figure out whether he was crazy or just desperate to keep her from walking away.

Choosing his words carefully, he explained, "When I was coming into work today, I thought there was something strange going on but then when I was talking to you, I knew. I'm – I know it sounds crazy, but I'm hearing people's thoughts." He'd acted rashly; he still didn't really know how he was going to explain all of this to her. The best he could hope for was that, once he gained control over his ability, he could convince her that his newfound power had left him just as suddenly as it had come. Given her experiences in Smallville, there was some hope she might even believe it.

Turning very slowly to face him, Lois frowned up into his face. "You can hear people's thoughts?" she repeated, every syllable emphasizing how improbable his claims were. _//God, I hope not.//_

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. And that's why I had to leave. I mean, who would want to be around someone who could actually read their mind? And the worst part is, I can't turn it off. I mean, I don't know how, or even if it's possible."

"But…you can hear…people's thoughts!" she repeated slowly, as if somehow the mere repetition of its illogic would make it untrue. He nodded again. Scowling, she said, "Okay, well, not to say I don't trust you, Smallville, but prove it."

He gestured vaguely in her direction and offered quickly. "You like this shirt on me. You thought so when you saw me this morning."

"Or you figured as much when I didn't tell you to burn it as soon as I saw you," she pointed out.

He tried again. "You were checking this morning's paper for stories about the Blur."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Duh!"

Clark sighed in exasperation. He was tempted to tell her that he'd overheard her confession that she'd had dreams of kissing him, but he had a feeling she would not be comfortable that he had such knowledge. The last thing he wanted to do was to alienate her or freak her out more. "Okay," he said with another sigh. "So…think of something. Anything. And I'll tell you what it is." He paused as she pursed her lips thoughtfully, and then he started to rattle things off. "One, two, six, fifteen, aardvark, platypus, snorkel, penguin, ice cream, chocolate, hot fudge, cherry toppings, and you really think I…wait. I don't think you want me to say that last thing aloud."

Lois jumped, her eyes growing wide as she sucked in a sharp breath between her teeth as she scampered back a few feet. "Okay, wait, I think we need to take a moment and think about this."

Though he couldn't blame her for her reaction, it hurt to see her move away from him. "See?" he asked quietly. "That's why I had to leave. I knew you wouldn't want me to hear your thoughts and I didn't want to take something from you that you weren't willing to give me."

"Well, of course I don't want you to hear my thoughts!" she blurted. "You think I really want to you to hear how many times I think about chocolate every day? Or what I really think about – ah – people at work?" _//Or how many times lately I've been thinking about having sex with you?//_ She jumped at her own thought. "Wait, did you just hear that?" she demanded, eyeing him suspiciously.

Given what he'd just overheard, he had no idea how he managed to keep his expression blank when he asked her innocently, "Hear what? I don't think it works all the time, though I haven't had much of a chance to test it. And I think proximity helps." She stared at him for another long moment as if uncertain whether to believe his claims of innocence, but then she let it go. He suspected she did so because she preferred to believe him and was afraid if she pressed him she might find out he was lying.

Sucking in a deep breath, she finally said slowly, "Okay, well…we're going to forget about all of that for now because we really need to figure out how to help you get – get rid of this thing."

"You're going to stick around and help me?" he asked in surprise. "But what about…Lois, I told you, I can't control it. If you're here with me and you think about something, I won't be able to keep from hearing it too."

"I know," she admitted with a grimace. "But what's the alternative? I let you deal with this alone? You stay here like a hermit for the rest of your life? Please, Clark, you're my friend. I'm not about to leave you to deal with this thing alone. Just promise me that you'll try not to hear my thoughts, okay?"

_//It would help, Lois, if you'd actually stop thinking about having sex with Clark! But then again, it's like trying not to think of an elephant. The more you know you shouldn't, the harder it is not to. Clark sex. Oh, god, think about something else. Pumpkin pie. Sex with Clark. Rush hour traffic. Sex with Clark in the barn. Sex with Clark, in the barn, on top of a bale of hay. Wait, that sounds uncomfortable. Sex with Clark, on the couch in the loft. Son of a bitch!//_

Her face was slowly turning bright red and she looked up at him in abject mortification. "I…you…please tell me you didn't hear any of that. Lie to me if you have to."

"I…uh…" he stammered, taken a little himself with the direction her thoughts had taken. Since his reaction had propelled Lois into all but having an apoplectic fit, he hastily added, "You know, I think we should just agree that anything I do happen to overhear doesn't actually mean anything. I mean, people think about strange stuff all the time, right? Just because they think it doesn't mean they want to act on it." Though he really wouldn't mind if she argued the point. However, he was trying his best to give her a graceful out to the situation.

The color on her face slowly faded. "R-right," she stammered and then laughed, a little too loudly. "It's like you said. Just because someone's thinking something doesn't mean they're going to do anything about it. Or that they even want to! They're just…thoughts." _//Or maybe sex with Clark on the stairs. That could get uncomfortable. But if we had sex on the bale of hay, we'd have to take a shower afterwards, and that means sex in the shower…//_ "That's it. I'm getting a drink," she growled as she stormed past him and into the house.

Clark was starting to realize that getting Lois's help was going to be a lot more difficult on him than he'd originally thought. He'd been trying to avoid hearing her thoughts for her sake; he'd not stopped to consider how hard hearing them would be on him. Did she really think about having sex with him that much, or – like she'd thought earlier – was she thinking about it so often now because it was the one thing she was trying not to think about at all?

One thing was for sure. If she didn't start thinking about something else soon, getting her help was going to be murder on his self-control.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Lois stormed into the farmhouse and headed directly for the kitchen, fully intent on getting the drink she'd promised herself. As she reached for a bottle of beer in the fridge, however, she paused with a frown. Although it would be nice to have a drink to fortify her nerves, the last time she'd had a glass too many at Chloe's wedding, she'd gushed about Clark on her answering machine. While she didn't intend to drink nearly that much tonight, she had to worry about more than just her tongue getting away from her. She had to worry about the thoughts that betrayed her.

With a sigh, she grabbed some water out of the fridge and turned her attention to the cabinets, instead. Nothing immediately came to her attention, so she dug further and finally found the object of her search. A large box of chocolates was cunningly hidden behind some Wheat Bran on the top shelf of a cabinet.

"Ah, Mrs. Kent. I love you. You're a woman after my own heart," she muttered as she pulled it down. Squinting at the expiration date, she noticed that the chocolates had expired several months before, and the thought of eating rancid chocolate gave her pause. In the end, she tore open the box and popped a chocolate in her mouth anyway. Dying of rancid chocolate could not possibly be worse than dying of the mortification that would come if Clark continued to hear her thoughts. It tasted a bit funny, and she grimaced, considering throwing the box away. Then Clark walked in and she saw the way that his shirt stretched across the perfectly formed invitation that was his chest and she shoved another two in her mouth.

"Lois, I've been thinking," he began as he walked into the kitchen, oblivious to the fact that the chocolate anesthetization had yet to kick in.

"Moef?" she mumbled around the chocolate candies in her mouth, causing Clark to look at her, a little taken aback. She glowered at him, and this time, she decided to use his new special skill to her advantage. _//There are some things in life that absolutely REQUIRE chocolate, and finding out that your best friend can hear your thoughts turns out to be one of them. You gonna make an issue out of it?//_

"Uh…no. Of course not," he said awkwardly, his eyes flicking away from her but then returning to her face. "Anyway, I was thinking that we should probably start by figuring out how close someone has to be to me for me to hear their thoughts." While there was a chance he could use his enhanced hearing to listen in on people's thoughts from further away, he couldn't imagine why he would ever want to do such a thing, and so that was something he could deal with later.

"Okay," she agreed as she skirted around the island. _//Damn, he's cute when he's uncomfortable.//_ Lois grimaced at the thought and reached over the counter to grab another chocolate and stick it in her mouth. "I guess maybe…you should stay right there and I'll start walking into the living room. Let me know when you can't hear my thoughts anymore. _//And then I can think about having sex with you without you hearing about it. GAH! Bad Lois! Think about chocolate, Lane! It's safer! All your favorite kinds of chocolate. There's dark chocolate and white chocolate and milk chocolate with nuts. Chocolate and peanut butter. Twix bars. Rocky road ice cream. Chocolate fudge. Hot fudge. Hot fudge on top of rocky road ice cream! Hot fudge on top of Clark! DAMN IT! Chocolate, Lane, chocolate! Umm…chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies and chocolate covered bananas and…wait. Stay away from the bananas. That's only going to lead you down the road of…chocolate covered Clark. No! Feeding Clark chocolate covered strawberries. No, no, no! Clark feeding…no! CHO-CO-LATE! Damn it, where's that box? Why'd I leave it all the way over there? Oh, Clark tasted like chocolate in my dream but this morning he tasted like coffee. What would he taste like now. LOIS!//_

"Okay, you can stop now!" Clark yelped as the sound of her thoughts faded, feeling the sweat start to bead on his forehead. He didn't know which was worse; hearing Lois's thoughts or having to pretend like he wasn't affected by them.

"You stopped hearing my thoughts?" she asked in a desperately hopeful voice.

"Yeah," he said with a relieved sigh, and though he couldn't seem to stop thinking about feeding chocolate covered strawberries to Lois, he was pretty sure that image was coming from his own mind and not hers. He judged the distance between them. "So I guess you do have to be somewhat close to me for me to be able to hear anything. That's good to know."

She nodded and paused before she stepped closer to him again, snagging the box of chocolates on her way. "Yeah, but unless you want to have to stay a room away from everyone you know for the rest of your life, that's not very helpful. We need to figure out how to get this under control. If that's possible. And I'm sure it is!" she blurted encouragingly, trying to keep him in an optimistic mood.

With a pained smile, he nodded, and the two of them walked into the living room and sat down together on the couch before continuing. "I'm just not sure how to begin," he admitted, mussing his hair as he ran a hand through it in frustration. "Learning how to listen in on something is one thing…theoretically, I mean. But how do you learn to not hear something?"

Lois gave a thoughtful nod. "It is strange, I'll admit. I mean, even the thought of you getting a meteor power all of a sudden. You've lived in Smallville for years. Why now?" _//God, I hate it that I'm so worried about you, but I don't know how to help you. What if I can't? Maybe I'm the wrong person for this. Maybe Clark needs someone smarter or more patient to…what if I let him down?//_ "Maybe you should call Chloe," she suggested, a worried frown creasing her brow. "She's the one who spent years studying the effects the meteor rocks on people. If anyone would know how to help you, it would be her."

He didn't take offense at what might have sounded like her trying to fob his problem off on someone else, by anyone who didn't know her – or anyone who couldn't read her thoughts. Instead, he took her hand and squeezed it. "It's okay, Lois. You won't let me down."

Her gaze dropped to their hands, and she stared at the way their fingers were linked together. _//You say that now, but I've grown up being told by everyone I cared about that I usually do. I'm just wondering how long it will take you to come to the same conclusion.//_

"Lois…" he began, but she cut him off.

In a strained voice, she blurted, "Clark, don't. We agreed that random thoughts didn't mean anything, remember?" _//That was stupid, Lois. God, why did CLARK of all people have to get this ability? I wouldn't mind so much if it was the Blur. Hell, just this morning, I wished the Blur could know how much just having him here means to me. To everyone, really. But Clark can hear my THOUGHTS? Could it get any worse?//_

Clark grimaced, wishing she would stop thinking about how much she cared about the Blur. It was somewhat demoralizing to realize he was jealous of himself, but even recognizing that it was absurd and that Chloe would laugh at him in his predicament, didn't do much to quell his feelings. Lois didn't want him to hear her thoughts, but she wouldn't mind if the Blur did? The very thought put his teeth on edge, and even to himself, he couldn't entirely explain why.

When she looked over at him, he hesitated, wanting to push the point. He didn't want Lois to think she was going to let him down if he couldn't figure out how to get his newest power under control right away. But she didn't want him to address it. She hadn't even wanted him to know she'd had such a feeling; he only knew she did because he could hear her private thoughts. It would put her on the defensive if he pushed the point now, and she probably wouldn't believe him anyway. He just had to hope that if he did his best to show her that she couldn't let him down, she would eventually believe it.

"Okay," he said with a heavy sigh, a note of reluctance in his voice. "Well, I've been spending the last few hours trying to concentrate on not hearing things, but we can see that didn't go over very well.

"Hm," Lois hummed, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Well, I guess it's hard to practice that sort of thing when nobody else is around." She got up and started to pace back and forth, her mind racing. _//How do you focus on not hearing something? The more you try not to hear it, the more you hear it, right? It's like me trying not to think about having sex with Clark. The minute I try not to think about it, I can't get it out of my head to save my life.//_ Finally, she tilted her head back and sighed. "Ugh. I think I'm starting to suffer from caffeine deprivation. You want some coffee?"

Sitting there on the couch, trying to find a solution to his problem but distracted by the rambling train of her thoughts, he nodded. "That sounds great right about now. I can get it."

"No, it's okay. I've got it. You just sit there. No offense, but I think I need to be alone with my thoughts for a couple of minutes. It's hard to concentrate when I know that everything I think is being overheard. I'll be back in just a minute." He watched her walk into the kitchen and rested his head back on the back of the couch, trying to get himself under control. Between the mystery of what had happened, the concern that Lois would realize he was the Blur, her thoughts about having sex with him, and…well, mostly that last part, it was frankly getting damn difficult to concentrate. He might have better luck if he was with someone else, like Chloe. At the very least, he wouldn't be constantly distracted by how much he wanted to kiss her. But even though he knew it would probably be wise, he didn't want Lois to go. Even if every minute he had her here made it harder for him to resist the urge to kiss her again.

"Hey, Smallville!" Lois called out from the kitchen. "I've got a question for you! Why didn't you realize you were hearing people's thoughts earlier?"

Grimacing, he rose to his feet and walked to the doorway, staying just outside the range that he would begin to hear her thoughts. "Look, Lois, I'm sorry that I overheard you at the office today, but –"

Shaking her head, she waved her hand dismissively at him. "No, that's not what I'm getting at, though your apology is noted. Again. I'm just wondering why you didn't realize that's what was going on earlier." Glancing at his face, she could see that he didn't understand, so as she poured the water into the coffee maker, she said, "Look, you drove in this morning, right? And you parked your truck in the lot near the Planet, where I keep my car. I know because I saw it there. So you walked from that lot, down the road, past Al's stand – you had the paper this morning so I know that's where you went – and into work, right?" He nodded. "And in that time, you probably passed a couple hundred people. So why didn't you realize you could hear their thoughts? I mean, people think all the time. Things they need to get done that day, dirty little secrets they don't want their lovers to know, how annoying The Macarena is when it gets stuck in your head. You should have heard all that, and if you had, you would have realized that something was wrong. Right?"

Straightening, he stared at her with a thoughtful frown. "Well, yes, maybe. Except…I wouldn't have known that they were thoughts, so maybe I did hear them but I didn't really register them in the same way that you just don't register the thousands of conversations you pass on the street on any given day."

Lois leaned a hip against the island as she waited for the coffee to brew and nodded. "Right. Well, what's the first think that you are absolutely sure was a thought you overheard?"

He was silent for a moment, and then he answered. "Well…in retrospect, I realize that you probably didn't say that you liked this color on me." He plucked at the front of his shirt. "And you might have been thinking about the Bl – oh, wait. You know what? There was that girl at Al's stand. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have said that out loud."

"Said what out loud?" Lois asked, narrowing her eyes slightly at him.

"Oh, she was admiring my…biceps," he amended hastily. "But that's pretty much it. Oh, except there may have been some guy at the Planet. It's hard to know for sure."

"Hm," Lois said softly, turning to grab a couple of mugs out of the cabinet. "But you should have heard a lot more, right?"

"Wh-why do you say that?" he stammered, worried for a moment that she'd guessed his secret.

She shrugged. "Well, like I said, you probably passed a couple hundred people today. All those people thinking more or less all the time…it should have hit you like a flood, right? It's like being surrounded by a crowd of people who are just chattering nonstop, and you can't tune them out. You'd go a bit crazy after a while."

He paused. "I guess I see your point," he admitted. "But I'm not sure where you're going with it."

The coffee was almost finished brewing, so she grabbed the sugar. "I'm just thinking out loud." Looking up at him under the fringe of her bangs, she grinned slightly and winked. "Saving you the trouble of having to listen in. The thing that I can't get around is that you didn't notice. So I have to ask myself why. I mean, you can be oblivious sometimes, but you're not usually _that _oblivious. So either I'm wrong and you really were so out of it that you didn't realize that other people were thinking too loudly for you to hear your own thoughts…or you weren't really hearing them. And if you weren't hearing them, the question is why."

"Well, I wasn't thinking about it," he said. "Like I said, even if I overheard them, I would have tuned them out because I wouldn't have realized what was going on."

"Of course! But I think that's why you can't tune my thoughts out now. You're trying not to hear them!" she practically crowed.

Clark cleared his throat and stared at her for a long moment before pointing out, "Okay, but if I try _to _hear them, it defeats the purpose. If I try to hear your thoughts, I hear your thoughts. If I try not to hear your thoughts, I hear your thoughts."

She nodded. "Exactly. Because you're concentrating on trying not to hear my thoughts. It's like if I tell you not to think about…kissing me –"

"Lois, do you think we can use a different example?" he asked in a pained voice. After the scene this morning and the several hours he'd spent hearing her random thoughts about having sex with him, he wasn't sure how much longer he could take it.

Flushing slightly, she said, "Okay…so it's like if I tell you not to think about…a sea cucumber!" she offered with a wave of her hand. "All you can think about is a sea cucumber, right? Try it. Try not thinking about a sea cucumber."

He arched his eyebrows at her. "A sea cucumber?" he drawled, the corners of his mouth quirking.

"Well, you didn't like my first suggestion," she huffed. "I was trying to come up with something you wouldn't think about very often under normal circumstances."

"Oh, well in that case, kissing you wasn't a very good suggestion, even to prove your point," he murmured, staring at her warmly. She looked so adorable, her cheeks flushed with enthusiasm, her hands on her hips as she glowered over at him.

"Why, because I – oh!" Lois fell silent abruptly, having realized what he was implying. "Well, but…I…sea cucumbers!" she finally blurted, her cheeks flushed bright red. "You're supposed to be thinking about sea cucumbers!"

Clark felt the awkward tension fall between them, and he knew that he had done it by admitting once again that he'd thought about kissing her. He'd spoken thoughtlessly, not considering the effect his words would have on her. Regretting his unthinking statement, he cleared his throat uncomfortably and said, "Right. Well, I'm supposed to be _not _thinking about sea cucumbers, actually."

"And if I tell you that it's really important for you to not think about sea cucumbers, what are you thinking about? I mean, it is absolutely _vital _that you think about anything other than sea cucumbers. What are you thinking about now?"

"Well, I'm thinking that after hours of hearing your thoughts, I still have no idea how your mind works. I'm thinking about coffee. And…sea cucumbers. I mean, dinner! I was thinking that we should do something about dinner, unless you've already eaten. I think some people eat sea cucumber, though I've never – damn it."

A wide grin spread across her face and she started to pour coffee into the two mugs. "See? Exactly!"

She looked so proud of herself, he found himself smiling at her in return. "All right, I guess there's a reason you're a great investigative reporter. So what you're saying is…if I concentrate on hearing your thoughts, I'm going to hear your thoughts. And if I concentrate on not hearing your thoughts, I hear your thoughts. So the only thing I can do to actually not hear your thoughts is –"

She broke in, "You need to try to not hear my thoughts without concentrating on trying to not hearing my thoughts."

"Right," he responded, grinning despite himself. "Well, as long as we've got that cleared up."

Lois paused and then chuckled. Shaking her head, she left the mugs on the counter and brushed her hands against her pants. "All right. Let's try something else." Stepping towards him, her voice dropped considerably and she murmured, "You trust me, Clark?"

His smile fell as he stared into her eyes. "Absolutely," he responded, his voice husky.

"Okay," she said on a sigh. _//I can't believe how much I want to kiss him right now.//_

"Lois, I'm not sure that's helping," he growled.

"I can't help it. But that's okay. I think this'll work better than what I had in mind." Framing his face in her hands, she licked her lips and stared deeply into his eyes. "I really, really want to kiss you right now. Do you want to kiss me?"

His mouth went dry, and he put his hands on her waist. His first impulse was to hide his thoughts, deflect her question with a question. But even though he was aware that she knew he could hear her thoughts, he had no doubt that admitting her desire to kiss him aloud had taken a certain amount of courage. He couldn't repay her courage with his cowardice. "Yes," he admitted softly.

_//I really hope this works.//_ "All right. Close your eyes, Clark." When he'd done what she instructed, she stretched onto her toes and brushed her lips against his. _//Think about how much you want to kiss me.//_ He leaned forward, intending to deepen the kiss, but she pulled away, breaking off the embrace though she did not move out of his arms. _//Do you remember the kiss we shared this morning? Are you thinking about it now?//_

She was taunting him with her thoughts, and his hands trembled on her waist as he struggled to resist the urge to pull her against him. "Lois," he breathed.

"Don't say anything, Clark," she murmured. "Just remember." _//Remember how you pushed me against the wall before you kissed me? I do. I never thought you would do anything like that. Did you want to keep kissing me? What would you have done if you hadn't had to leave? Can you imagine it?//_

He could. All too easily. He had imagined making love to her on top of her desk that morning, would it really be all that different making love to her in that empty office. He remembered the way her body had felt against his, her thighs wrapped around his hips, her mouth beneath his own. He remembered the little moan she'd made when he cupped her breast and the way his breathing had grown ragged as he pressed himself against her.

If he hadn't had to leave, he could well imagine what he would have done. How easy it would have been for him to have unbuttoned her blouse and kissed the swell of her breasts over the line of her bra. What would she have done if he'd pushed the cloth of her panties aside and slid his fingers inside of her? Would she have protested, or would she have moaned his name in pleasure?

She was close enough to him that he could hear her breathing, smell the soft scent of her hair. What would she do if he kissed her now? Could he pull her into his arms and lift her against him as he had before?

He remembered the dream he'd had, that last night he'd spent at her apartment. It had been so vivid. In his dream, he'd made love to her on that couch, and as he'd thrust inside her, she'd told her she loved him. Clark sucked in a sharp breath, his hands tightening on her waist.

Lois dropped her hands and stepped out of his arms. His eyes flew open in surprise and he stared at her. "Well?" she asked, her voice rising in excitement. "Did you hear my thoughts?"

"Did I – huh?" he asked, needing a moment to return to himself. "Yes, I…well, wait. At least, I did at first. But I guess…not when I was thinking about what happened between us this morning."

She seemed completely unperturbed by his distraction. "Yes! I was hoping that would work!" Seeing his confused look, she explained, "See, when your mind is occupied by something else, you're not able to hear my thoughts! Or at least you don't hear them, whether or not you're able to. It's only when your mind is wandering or when you're thinking about the people around you that you can hear their thoughts. But as long as you are concentrating completely on something, you should be fine!"

He stared at her, seeing the logic of what she had to say. Of course, his attention had been concentrated on her that morning, when she'd been in his arms. But he'd also realized that he was hearing her thoughts, and he'd been worried about hearing too much. Perhaps by concentrating on that worry, he'd unintentionally caused himself to hear exactly that which he didn't want to hear.

"I understand," he murmured, reaching to brush her hair back from her face. A smile crossed his face, though the expression was tight from strain. His eyes were dark as he stared down at her, and her eyes widened as she looked up at him. "So as long as I think about kissing you, I won't hear people's thoughts."

She sucked her lower lip between her teeth, her eyes locked on his as he stepped closer to her. "Yes. I mean, well, no! It doesn't have to be that. It can be anything. I just used that as an example."

"But that's all I can think about," he breathed, and he swallowed her gasp as he bent his head and kissed her, just as he'd imagined.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Lois gasped against Clark's mouth as his lips touched hers. At first, the only things that touched were their mouths, but when she started to pull away, he wrapped his hands around her arms around held her in place. Her hands hovered above his waist, though she didn't touch him, unsure of what to do.

Of course it didn't take much self-reflection for her to recognize what she _wanted _to do. What she wanted to do was kiss him back and perhaps take their embrace to the next level. But was it really a good idea?

The fact of the matter was, Clark had kissed her that morning after hearing how much she wanted him. He was kissing her now after hearing her frustratingly non-stop internal monologue about all the different ways she wanted to have sex with him. Hell, for the last few minutes, she'd been tormenting him with the memories of the kiss they'd shared that morning. Granted, it had been for scientific purposes (or so she told herself), but the fact of the matter was that even Clark had to have a breaking point.

"Wait!" she cried, putting her hands against his chest and pushing him away slightly.

He frowned down at her, a small crease forming between his brows. "I'm sorry, Lois. I didn't mean to make it seem like I was forcing you into something you didn't want."

She shook her head. "No," she said, pressing her lips together as she looked up at him. "It's – it's not that. It's just… You can hear my thoughts. You've heard them all day, so I can't pretend that I haven't been thinking about…um…us. But you can hear my thoughts; you know what I want. You know how I feel. But I don't have that advantage. I don't know how you feel about me, Clark." _//Do you really care about me, or is this just a fling for you? God, why is it that I can never tell what you're thinking? Some investigative reporter you are; you work right across the desk from Clark and you can't figure out the first thing about him! Like how he feels about you. And here you are in l-//_

"This isn't just a fling!" he blurted, unable to take the sound of her self-doubt any longer. He was surprised to hear that she didn't know how he felt about her, but then he realized that he hadn't exactly told her, had he? He'd told her he wanted another shot. He'd kissed her and told her he wanted her. But had he told her he loved her? Had he told her that she was the only thing he could think about, that he'd had too many fantasies about her to count? Or, more importantly, that he'd dreamt of waking up in morning and coming downstairs to find her smiling at him from across the kitchen table from him?

He'd told her he wanted her, in a very physical sense – and he couldn't deny that he did. But more than that, he wanted her in his life, in his heart, in his home. He wanted to wake up next to her every morning. He wanted to hold her in his arms at night. More and more, he was beginning to realize that he wanted to share his life with her. He wanted to laugh with her when she was happy and hold her when she was sad and just be there for her all the moments in between. And in fifty years, he wanted to come down those same steps he'd been trodding since he was a child and find her there in his kitchen. Smiling at him over a cup of coffee.

His father used to tell him to wait to give his heart to the woman who would hold it safe forever. As his dad had put it, to give it away only once he'd found his Martha. And, finally, Clark realized that he had "his Martha" right in front of him and had for a long time. His Lois.

The revelation came upon him suddenly, and he was struck speechless in the wake of it. How could he tell Lois the profound impact she had on him? How could he tell her what she meant to him? She felt like his feelings were a mystery to her, but if that was true, it was only because he didn't know the words to tell them to her.

Curving his hands behind her back, he pulled her against his body and stared into her eyes, willing her to understand what he didn't have the first clue how to explain. This was one of the most important moments in his life. She was leaving her heart open to him, and he could break it so easily with the wrong word. He had to get this right or he would hurt her, and he would never forgive himself if he did such a thing.

"Lois, I don't know…there isn't a good way for me to tell you what I feel for you." Her eyes were locked on his, and they narrowed as she studied him intently. Taking a deep breath, he plunged ahead. "I'm a reporter, so you'd think I'd be good with words, but I'm not. I never have been. So I don't know _how _to tell you how I feel about you. What I feel for you…it's different than anything else I've ever felt before."

He paused and waited for her reaction. She didn't say anything aloud, but he didn't need her to. _//Different…different is good. Isn't it? I mean…maybe he means love. Love could be different than anything he's ever felt before.//_ He started to smile. _//Of course, so could food poisoning.//_ His smile fell.

"You don't make this easy, do you Lois?" he chided her in good-natured frustration.

"I'm not an easy person, Clark. You should know that by now," she reminded him. "Besides, I can't help it if I overthink things. It's just who I am."

"I know," he admitted, unconsciously stroking her back with his palm in a comforting gesture. "And the fact that you know yourself so well is one of the things I've always admired most about you."

With her palm on his chest, she leaned in to him. "You mean there are other things you like about me, Smallville?" she teased gently. _//Don't push him, Lois. If he doesn't know how he feels about you yet, don't scare him away.//_

"Don't," he said abruptly, his palm stilling against her back. "Don't think like that. You're not going to scare me away." Because he could hear her thoughts, he added, "And I do know that, so don't argue with me." He paused and then glowered down at her. "And, yes, arguing with me with your thoughts is still arguing with me, Lois."

Because he could still hear her thoughts, he sucked in a deep breath and tried to focus. He was about to get dragged into a debate over whether Lois could in fact be arguing with him if she was only _thinking _about how wrong he was, and that was rather off the topic at hand.

"What I feel for you," he said firmly, ignoring her mental monologue, "is both comforting and terrifying at the same time. Before I met you, I knew who I wanted to be, but I didn't know who I was. Well, I know who I am, when I'm with you, and when you look at me, I think that who I am is enough; I don't have to try to be something more to live up to your expectations of me. But when I look at you…when I look at you, Lois, I want to be a hero. Because you deserve nothing less than a hero. You deserve the Blur." She stared up at him, her eyes wide, and so he offered her a soft smile. "I love you, Lois Lane."

_//I love you, too.//_

"I love you, Clark," she whispered, her breath fanning gently against his mouth. Hearing her say the words, he remembered every fantasy he'd had of her in the last few months. Every time her dream self had whispered those three little words into his ear, and yet none of them compared with the real thing.

_"I won't be alone again. I'll be waiting to love you." His voice was sad but firm as he tried to reassure her._

"Love me?" she repeated, unable to breathe past the lump in her throat.

"You doubt it?" His hand fell to her stomach, warming her skin.

"Show me." Her words were a demand and a plea as he rose over her. She wrapped her legs around his hips and arched her back as he thrust inside her, a low moan breaking the silence. She never wanted this moment to end. Tomorrow would be her yesterday, but she didn't want to lose this today.

"I don't want to face tomorrow," he growled, framing her body with his hands as he thrust inside her, filling her completely. "I just want to stay in this moment. Don't leave me, Lois. Don't leave me."

Though her eyes wanted to flutter shut, she forced them open and met his gaze unflinchingly. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she shifted her hips against his. "Never." She rotated her hips until he had almost left her completely, and then she thrust towards him again, the feeling of him inside her taking her breath away. "Never," she repeated, each thrust acting as an emphasis on her vow. "Never. I'll never leave you. I lo-"

"Don't say it," he interrupted her, stealing her words with a kiss. "Don't say it to me. Say it to him."

She pressed her lips together and shook her head, wanting to argue. She let out a tiny moan of protest as he withdrew, but he didn't release her. Instead, he cupped her chin in his palm and forced her to look at him.

"I know how you feel about me, Lois. I can see it. I can feel it. But if you tell me – if I hear you say it – then I won't be able to do what I need to do tomorrow," he said. "I thought I lost my chance to tell you how I feel about you, and I didn't want to take the chance that I'd lose it again. But I've waited so long to hear you say those words…the first time you say them, I don't want it to be a goodbye. I don't want it to be as what we have together ends. I want it to be a beginning for us. Do you understand?"

"You say that like you know for sure that you're going to die tomorrow," she whispered, and though she tried to hide how the thought pained her, a tear slid down the side of her face to wet the pillow beneath her head. "Don't – don't talk like that. You don't know what's going to happen."

But he knew, and she could see it in his eyes. She wanted to argue, to rail against his self-certainty, but she knew as well as he did what the dawn would bring. "Promise me that as soon as I leave you tomorrow, you'll grab the ring and you'll go back," he whispered, kissing the tears from her eyes. "Promise me that you won't be watching when it happens."

Her fingers dug into the muscles of his back as she bowed her head into his shoulder. She opened her mouth to argue, but when a tiny muffled sob escaped in its place, she pressed her lips against his skin and trembled in his arms.

His touch was gentle as he wrapped himself around her, and then he was pressing inside her again as they stole this last night together. At first, their rhythm was slow and gentle, but as her tears dried and her neck arched back against the pillow, his name a plea on her lips, his tempo increased. Covering her mouth with his, he swallowed her ragged breaths and slid a hand across her hip to slip his fingers inside her wetness, fingering her as he thrust inside of her.

As she came, she cried out her love for him, but his mouth stole her words. And so he didn't hear them on their last night together. Very likely the last night of his life.

"Lois," Clark moaned against the soft skin beneath her ear.

_"Yes," she moaned. She was riding him, her fingers digging into his shoulders, which were slick with a thin sheen of sweat. His hands trembled against her hips as he guided her motions when she rocked against him._

She bowed her head and stared into his eyes. She was so close…so close…but she didn't want to go alone. She almost smiled when she saw the taut veins at the side of his throat as he struggled to hold himself back. She ran her hand through his hair, which was tangled from their long night of sleep and sex.

"Lois." His groan sounded almost pained, and she dropped her hand to his shoulders and tightened her legs around his waist, pulling him against her. She licked the muscle at the side of his neck, the evidence of the self-control that was slipping away from him, and then she smiled. He was holding back for her, but when she came, she wanted him to come with her.

Like a dam bursting, their tempo picked up as they rocked against each other again and again. Lois's nails bit into the skin of his shoulders, though they didn't leave a mark, and her body shuddered. "Come with me," she whispered, desperate not to let him go.

"Always." His voice came out as a rasp, filled with desire and need.

And then he was pouring himself into her and Lois threw her head back and cried out his name as she shook in his arms. "Clark!"

"Don't stop, Clark," Lois gasped. Her hands were braced on the countertop, her body pressed against his.

Thumbing the beaded tip of her breast with one hand, he slid the other under the line of her panties and stroked her, thrilling in the guttural growl she made when he slid two fingers inside of her.

"I wasn't going to," he murmured into her ear with a pained chuckle.

_"Who are you?" she demanded, resisting the urge to scamper a few steps back when he approached her. She wasn't the type to run away from anything, and she had never in her life run from him._

"Kal-El. But I used to be known as Clark," he told her gravely, in that same cold tone with which he'd addressed her thus far.

Her eyes narrowed as she glowered up at him. She couldn't believe he was telling the truth. Yes, he looked like Clark, but that was where the resemblance ended! His voice was cold, he didn't speak with the warmth of emotion that Clark usually did. And when he touched her, it was the cold, impersonal touch of a stranger.

"I don't believe you," she spat, poking him in the chest with her finger. "You're nothing like Clark!"

He stared at the finger poking into his chest for a moment, and when he raised his head, she could swear a flicker of emotion crossed his face before the cold mask was replaced once more. "I'm him," he said in a low voice. She moved to poke him again, intending to demand more answers out of him, but in a move too quick for her to see, he grabbed her hand and stopped her. Holding her hand firmly in his, he raised his free hand to her face and cupped her cheek. For the first time, warmth creeped into his voice and pain flickered behind his eyes as he murmured, "I'm what happened to him after he lost you."

Lois reached for the buckle to his pants, fumbling with it. "I need you," she murmured against his mouth.

_"Don't go! Please…I know what you said, but this can't be the only way! There has to be another way to stop him!" she was on her knees in bed, pleading with him as he pulled his shirt over his head._

His eyes were sad as he looked back at her. "I'm sorry, Lois. It's time for you to go. You promised."

"Then come with me!" She stumbled as she scrambled off the bed and grabbed his black trench coat before he could slip it on.

Though he could have gotten angry with her for making this harder on him, he didn't. Instead, he turned to her and brushed her hair back from her face with a tender motion. "I can't. You know that. He's waiting for you. He needs you."

"He doesn't need me!" she cried. "You do! You need me right here, and I'm not going to leave you when you –"

He cut off her words with a kiss, his tongue running along her lower lip as his hands traveled down her body. She would have been turned on by his touch, if it didn't feel like he was memorizing the feel of her for the last time.

When the kiss broke off, he grabbed his coat out of fingers that shook too badly to stop him. "He needs you," he said firmly once more, and when he stepped back from her, all of the emotion they'd shared in the last few days was gone from his face. Once more, he looked at her through the cold, impersonal eyes of a stranger. "And you need to go. Now. You promised you would leave in the morning, Lois!"

"I lied!" she shot back. "I'm not going anywhere! I'm going to stay here until you come back to me, you understand?"

He looked away from her as he shrugged into his coat. Then, looking at her over his shoulder, he said flatly, "I'm not coming back and you know it." She shook her head in mute protest, so he pressed a thick golden ring into her hand and said, "This is the way this had to end."

When he turned from her, she tried to move in front of him, but he rose into the air instead. "Go home, Lois. I don't want you to see me die," he told her as he flew off, leaving her alone, clutching a ring adorned with an "L" insignia in her hand.

Because she knew he wouldn't return to her, she set out to follow him. But she was too late. She found him in the middle of a war-torn street…

"Lois…wait," Clark groaned, squeezing his eyes shut against the flood of images that kept invading his thoughts. The images weren't coming from him, but from her. Was this what she had been seeing since she returned from the future?

"No, please, Clark," she moaned, pressing her face against his shoulder. He could feel the warmth of her tears against his skin. "I need you. Please…Don't stop. Stay with me."

_"Clark." She moaned his name as she pulled him against her. "Stay with me tonight," she murmured against his mouth._

As she lay back on the couch, pulling him on top of her, he shifted his weight and pulled her against his body. "Lois," he breathed.

He was hard, and her leg lifted high against his hip as he pressed against her. "Clark!" she cried again when he touched her. "Don't stop!"

She reached for him and wrapped her hand around him through the fabric of his pants. As she freed him, she murmured, "I love you, Clark."

"I love you, Lois," he said as she opened for him and he thrust inside. "I love you."

"I love you," he breathed.

_"I'll be waiting to love you."_

Her hands tangled in his hair and she arched her back against him. "I need you," she said on a gasp.

_"I want you. Don't ever doubt how much I want you."_

"Then stay with me."

He gasped. "Yes," he breathed.

_"Don't leave me, Lois. Don't leave me."_

"Never," she moaned against his mouth.

_"Come with me."_

"Always," he growled. His eyes were squeezed shut, but it didn't stop the images from flooding in. Reality was merging with memory. With fantasy. Until he could no longer tell the two apart.

This wasn't how he wanted his first time with Lois to go. He didn't want to question what was real and what wasn't.

Forcing his eyes open, he looked down at her. She was laying upon the kitchen table. Her blouse was open and her breasts spilled out over the lace of her bra. Her skirt was hiked up around her hips, revealing black silk underneath, which had been moved aside. Had he done that to her?

He looked down at his chest, which was bare, though he didn't remember taking his shirt off. Though he was still wearing his pants, his erection had been freed, the tip glistening with moisture.

Bracing his hands on either side of her, he breathed deeply, trying to regain control.

_"I like to be on top."_

"Never let it be said I'm not willing to do what it takes to make you happy."

"No. Stop," he moaned, pressing his palms against his temples.

"Clark?" Lois asked in concern as she sat up.

_"I aim to please."_

"Oh, I hope so. Is that a promise, Smallville?"

"Please," he moaned, wanting to block out the images. "I can't get them to stop."

_//I can't stand this. He's hurting and I can't help him!//_

He shook his head, wanting to reassure her but not knowing how to do it.

Scrambling off the table, Lois grabbed him and tried to force him to look at her. "Clark, you need to concentrate!"

_//Oh, god, I did this too him, didn't I? Those stupid dreams I've been having…//_

"It's not you. It's not your fault," he said through gritted teeth.

_//I'm so scared; I don't know how to help him!//_ "You have to concentrate, Clark. It's the only way to stop this."

_"There has to be another way to stop him!"_

She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight as he bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut. "It's going to be okay, Clark. We're going to get through this," she murmured, pressing her cheek against his chest. "I'm not going to let you go."

_//I wish I could take this away from him. I wish he didn't have to hear these thoughts.//_

A long moment passed with the two just holding each other as the flashes faded and Clark's mind began to clear. Finally, he sucked in a deep breath and straightened to look down at her. "I-I think I'm okay now, Lois. Thank you."

She tilted her head back. "You sure? You're not – oh, crap. Sorry. You probably heard that."

"Heard what?" he asked with a slight frown of puzzlement.

"My thoughts. I just thought…wait, you didn't hear that?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes up at him.

He shook his head. "No. Try it again." A few seconds' silence fell between them and then he shook his head again. "I didn't hear anything."

Her jaw dropped and she stepped out of his arms. "So that's it? It's gone now? You're back to being yourself again?" she demanded, almost sounding angry with him at the prospect.

Feeling equally as confused as she looked, Clark tried to hear what he was sure was her rambling internal monologue, but he couldn't hear a thing. Finally, he nodded. "I guess so," he said.

"So, what, you were the only person in Smallville granted a power for all of twelve hours? Damn it, Clark, if I'd known that, I would have stayed away and you wouldn't have heard me think about having se-woah!" As she remembered her vivid sexual fantasies, she glanced down at herself and realized her state of undress. Whirling away from him, she fumbled with her shirt buttons, trying to fasten them before she lost any more of her dignity.

His own cheeks coloring in embarrassment, Clark tucked himself back in his pants and zipped them up. "Um…sorry about…uh…all of this," he stammered.

"No! No, it's fine!" she chirped in an overly bright voice. "Shit! What happened to these buttons? Half of them are missing!"

Clark felt like he should apologize, though he didn't remember tearing her shirt open. "Er, sorry about that. Listen, Lois, about your dreams –"

"Which we are never going to mention again!" she interjected, cutting him off.

"But Lois!" he began to protest.

Turning, she kept one arm pressed across her chest to keep her shirt closed as she raised the other one in a halting motion. "I mean it, Clark. Never again!" Though he wasn't happy about it, he pressed his mouth closed and swallowed his protest. After staring at him for a moment more, as if to assure herself that he had gotten the point, Lois swiped a hand through her hair. "Damn it. I wish we'd known you had the twenty-four hour meteor power, Clark. It would have saved us a hell of a lot of embarrassment."

"I know, Lois. But – wait." He frowned, her words triggering something in his memory. She wished she'd known that his powers weren't permanent. She'd also wished he didn't have his powers; he'd heard her think as much. Just before he lost them. It sounded so familiar…

"Lois," he said, speaking slowly in a level voice. "Did anything strange happen to you this morning? Did you meet anyone new? On the way into work or anything like that?"

She tilted her head and stared contemplatively at him. "No, not really. Oh, wait. I stopped a mugging. Four really beefy guys were picking on this girl, and I had to jump in and help her out. Of course I totally kicked their assess but she was pretty shook up about it, so I took her back to the Planet and we got to talking and she – wait." She stopped abruptly, her eyes widening.

When she started talking again, it was with a mounting sense of outrage. "No way. No. Way. There is no way that she…_I _did this to you? But I didn't –"

"Wait," he interrupted her. "Slow down. You're getting a little ahead of me here. What makes you think you did this? Who did you save from the mugging?"

Huffing, she crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. "Oh, just this girl. Zatara or something."

"Zatanna?" he offered. "Zatanna Zatara? The magician?"

"Yeah. You've heard of her?" she asked.

He nodded. "So have you. She was at Chloe's birthday party."

Sucking in a sharp breath, she demanded, "Wait, that was her? Oh, I _knew _she looked familiar! Damn it! And she said she wanted to pay me back for having helped her out, but if I'd known this was what she had in mind…! If I ever get my hands on her again, I'm going to wring her scrawny little neck! Oh my god, I can't believe that she'd -!"

Stepping forward, Clark put his hands on Lois's shoulders and ducked to catch her eye, trying to get her to calm down. "Slow down, Lois. You made a wish, didn't you? What was it?" He couldn't believe she'd have ever actually wished for him to hear her thoughts.

Scowling, she heaved a heavy sigh and said, "I wished that there was some way for the Blur to know how people felt about him," she confessed. "Or something like that; I don't remember my exact words. I don't know why you got whammied instead of him except that we'd been talking about you a few minutes before and I'd told her that I had…um…that I had feelings for you."

Looking up at him, she offered him an apologetic smile. "I know she only wanted to help. I didn't realize what she was going to do."

Trying to make her feel better, Clark said lightly, "Well, it could have been worse. At least you didn't end up with a tattoo on your –"

"Don't even say it!" she broke in and shook her head at his unrepentant grin.

Kneading her shoulders with his hands, Clark said softly, "Well, I can't say it's been the most fun day I've ever had, but in some ways, I'm not sorry that it happened. I'm glad that I know how you feel about me. I never knew you thought so much about sex…"

"You jerk!" she cried on a laugh as she moved to punch him in the arm, but he caught her fist before it could make contact.

His gaze locked on hers as he pulled on her arm, drawing her closer. His voice was a husky rumble when he murmured, "But I'm not sorry about anything that happened between us today. Are you?"

She bit her lip but she didn't look away as she slowly shook her head. "No," she said softly. Then she amended, "Well, maybe a thought or two that I had there. But what happened between us…no." Reaching for him, she locked her hands behind his neck and asked in a tremulous voice, "So…what do we do now that we're free of the crazy magic spell?"

He stared down at her and then bent, scooping her into his arms. "I think we should make a new memory, just the two of us."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Okay, this should be the last chapter! If I decide to do a sequel/prequel, I'll add an epilogue but I haven't decided yet so I'll leave it for now. Enjoy, and thanks everyone for reading!

**Chapter 6**

Clark strode across the living room, heading towards the stairs with Lois in his arms. He carried her weight easily, and though Lois wasn't normally the type of woman to swoon over displays of manly strength, she had to admit that being in Clark's arms like this made her heart beat a little bit faster. When he started to make his way up the stairs, he shifted her weight to prevent her from hitting her back against the railing. As he crossed over the threshold into the bedroom, however, he paused and looked around, an intense expression on his face.

Staring at him in puzzlement, Lois frowned slightly and slipped her legs out of his arms. "Everything okay?" she asked as she got onto her feet, resting her palms on his shoulders.

"Yeah," he said, the corner of his mouth curving into a smile. "I was just making sure of something." She arched her eyebrows curiously at him, so he grinned mischievously and explained, "I've had this dream before. Every time we get about right here, something happens and ruins it. Chloe calls or Oliver barges in or you tell me you have to go file a story…"

Lois chuckled. "You think this is a dream?" she asked lightly, her voice a husky rasp.

"It's pretty similar to dreams I've had, yes," he admitted, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Lois hummed thoughtfully and wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down towards her. His lips parted in anticipation of her kiss, and she sucked his lower lip into her mouth, letting her teeth scrape gently against his skin. Then she smiled against his mouth and growled, "Still think this is a dream?"

Sliding his hands to her hips, he walked her backwards. When she felt the back of her legs hit the bed, she sank down onto the mattress, pulling him down with her. He kissed her again, his tongue sliding into her mouth, and the folds of her torn shirt parted slightly as she sighed and arched her back towards him. "I'm sure I've had this dream before," he murmured as he trailed a path of kisses to her ear.

"If Ollie bursts through the door right now, I say we call the police," Lois teased, arching her neck to allow him better access.

"If Ollie burst through the door right now, I'm going to set him on fire," Clark corrected her, sounding as if he meant it. Just as he nuzzled the soft skin below her ear, he heard the phone on the dresser start to ring. He paused and bowed his head, sighing heavily as Lois snorted in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me," he moaned.

"Ah…hold on," Lois said as she leaned over and groped blindly for the phone. Picking it up, she glanced at the caller id. "It's Chl-hey!" She was just about to hit to answer button when Clark grabbed the phone and tossed it behind him. She lifted her head and glanced over Clark's shoulder. "Um…I think you broke your phone."

"I don't care," he growled, gently pushing her down on the bed before devouring her mouth with a kiss. She chuckled against his lips, but her laughter melted into a moan when he placed his hand on her leg and slid it up her thigh, hiking up her skirt as he did so.

One hand slid down his neck to his chest, and he sucked in a sharp breath when he felt her fingertips brush against his stomach. Breaking off the kiss, Lois threw her neck back and gasped when Clark slid his hand around her thigh to cup her through her panties, which were already damp.

Pushing the fabric of her panties aside, he slid a finger inside of her, smiling against her neck when he heard her make a tiny mewling moan of pleasure. "I've definitely had this dream before," he murmured with a pained chuckle.

Lois groaned and reached to undo for the button of his pants. He jerked when she slid her hand inside to wrap her hand around him. Sliding her hand slowly up and down his shaft, she murmured wickedly, "So have I."

Clark had been trying to take his time, but his control slipped when he felt her stroke him with her hand. Breath hissing through clenched teeth, he tore open her shirt the rest of the way, finishing the job he'd started in his kitchen. Bowing his head, he licked her through the lace of her bra, wetting the fabric. Then he yanked down her bra to tongue her nipple, causing her to gasp his name.

Pressing her hand against his chest, Lois shoved him gently as she lifted up on one arm. "Too many clothes," she gasped.

Though Clark didn't want to leave her, he had to admit she had a point. Jerking upright, he fumbled with the fly of his pants, shoving them to the ground to be followed by his boxers. In a smooth gesture, he kicked them aside as he reached for Lois, who had tossed her ruined shirt aside and was reaching for the clasp to her bra.

"Let me," he directed as he pushed her hands aside and reached for the clasp. Though he fumbled with it for a second, the tiny metal teeth finally slipped clear of their hooks, and Lois shrugged out of her bra as Clark skimmed his hands down her sides to her skirt.

There was a zipper over her left hip, and Lois lay back on the bed and arched her hips so that he could slide the zipper down and pull off her skirt and panties. When he pulled them off and tossed them aside, she reached for him, but he caught her hand.

"Clark, what -?" she asked in confusion when he pinned her hand down on the bed at her side. She stared up at him and shivered at the expression on his face. His eyes blazed as he stared down at her as if memorizing every line of her body. He was staring at her so intently that she felt a momentary flash of self-consciousness, but the desire he felt for her was so evident on his face that she couldn't feel embarrassed. "I want you, Clark," she whispered, and his eyes rose to her face.

"Not yet," he murmured, grabbing her other hand and then raising both above her head. "I've imagined this for so long…I want to take my time."

She shuddered at his words and tried to break free of his grip, wanting to touch him. He wouldn't release her, though, as he licked the side of her neck, causing her to suck in a shaky breath. Then he moved lower and kissed a path down to her breasts, which he lavished with attention as she sighed with pleasure. Slinging a leg over the small of his back, Lois lifted herself against him, causing him to groan, and she smiled at the sound.

Clark released her hands so that he could move lower, and Lois reached for him, resting her hands on his shoulders as he swirled his tongue around her navel. "Clark, please!" she pled as he moved his hands to her hips, lifting them easily. Then she gasped when he knelt on the floor before her and pushed her legs aside. "What are you – Clark!"

She cried his name aloud in a keening wail, her fingers digging into his shoulders when he ducked his head and put his mouth on her, stroking her with his tongue. Her hips jerked unconsciously as he sucked her clitoris between his lips and flicked his tongue against the tip. Grabbing her hips between his palms, Clark held her still as he continued to lick her, slipping his tongue inside of her.

Her breath was coming in ragged gasps and though she tried to speak, her words were coming out as disjointed, semi-coherent, nonsensical babbling. Finally, when she couldn't take it anymore, she sank her hand into his hair and tugged. He was going to make her come, and she wanted him to come with her.

Clark swirled his tongue around her clitoris one more time and then put his hands on the mattress, pressing down on it as he rose to his feet. She could see the traces of her juices on his lips before he wiped the back of his hand against his mouth and came down on top of her. "I can't believe it," he whispered teasingly in her ear. "You don't even stop talking when I'm doing that to you."

"Shut up," she growled, wrapping her legs around his hips and pressing herself against him. He was hard, his erection jutting towards her. Slipping a hand between their bodies, she caressed him again. She grazed the tip, slick with pre-cum, with her thumb. Clark let out a soft moan in response, his hips jerking.

Enough foreplay, Lois decided as she guided him to her entrance. He slid inside like he was made for her, and she bit her lower lip and threw her head back at the feel of him moving inside of her. He moaned her name as he wrapped his hands under her hips, lifting her against him.

He stayed still inside her for a moment as their eyes locked. Neither said a word as they stared at each other, and then they started to move as one. They moved slowly at first, as Clark almost pulled out of her completely before sliding into her once more. But it didn't take long until their passion took over and the rhythm increased.

Clark's weight pressed Lois against the mattress as he drove into her over and over again. Their lips met, tongues intertwining. Her nails bit into his back, almost tore through the fabric of his sheets as she clenched it into her fists. Hands stroked skin slick with sweat. He touched her and she gasped in pleasure. She caressed him and he moaned her name aloud.

Their breath came out in ragged gasps as he drove into her, with her lifting her hips to meet his every thrust. Lois forced her eyes open so she could look at his face as he came. She could feel the trembling in his arms, the muscles in his lower back tightening as he threw his head back, his eyes squeezing shut. He came with her name on his lips, and as she felt him pour himself inside of her, Lois followed suit, her fingers digging into his back as she held him tightly to her.

A while later, Lois was laying on her stomach, one arm curved under her cheek, the other flung out to the side. She had started to drift off to sleep when she felt the mattress shift next to her as Clark rose to his feet. "Mmm…everything okay?" she asked sleepily.

Keeping his voice soft so as not to disturb her, Clark said, "Yeah, I just thought I'd grab something to drink. You want anything?"

"Mmm-mmm," she hummed, shaking her head slightly. She heard him walk quietly out the door and started to drift off to sleep once more. She didn't know how much time had passed before he returned, but it didn't seem like long. Though he lowered himself carefully onto the bed, trying not to disturb her, Lois smelled the rich, warm scent of chocolate and her eyes fluttered open. "What's that?" she murmured, struggling with the temptation to turn her head to look at him. On the one hand, if there was chocolate to be had, she definitely wanted to be part of it. On the other hand, she was relaxed and warm and happy, her body completely sated, and she didn't really want to move.

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion when Clark said a little too innocently, "Just thought I'd get myself something to eat. Want some?"

The scent of chocolate got stronger and she smelled the subtle sweetness of strawberries as Clark waved something above her head. Moving just enough to turn her head to glare up at him, she demanded, "Where did you get those? I didn't see those earlier!"

"You must have missed them," he said with an innocent smile, stretching out next to her.

She spluttered, not knowing how to respond to that. As if oblivious to her indignation, Clark dipped the tip of the strawberry in his hand back in the melted chocolate and then dropped his hand to her back, trailing the strawberry along her skin.

"What are you doing?" Lois asked as Clark bent and licked the chocolate off her shoulder blade.

"Mmm…nothing," he murmured innocently against her skin. "Just eating. You can keep ignoring me."

Lois narrowed her eyes, sucking in her breath when she saw him move again out of the corner of her eye. Holding her breath, she focused intently on the feel of his breath against her shoulder. Then she felt something warm trail along the small of her back, to be followed by Clark's mouth. First there was the soft brush of his lips. When his tongue flicked against her skin, she shivered.

"You sure you don't want some?" he growled suggestively, and she rose up on one arm and turned her upper body to face him. He had dipped another strawberry in chocolate and was holding it out to her. Licking her lips, she stared at his offering, but she didn't take it right away.

He smile widened as he watched her, but he didn't move his hand. As Lois watched, a dollop of still-warm chocolate dripped off the strawberry and landed on her breast, trailing down to her nipple. Clark's smile took on a mischievous edge as he looked down at her breast. "I think we're going to have to do something about that."

Arching her eyebrows, Lois's gaze followed Clark's and she looked down at the trail of chocolate. "What did you have in mind?" she asked suggestively when she looked up at him.

His grin was wicked, and staring into her eyes, he bent to lick the chocolate off her breast. Her breathing grew ragged when she felt him press the pad of his tongue against her beaded nipple. As he lifted his head, he dipped the strawberry in chocolate again and made a move as if to trail it between her breasts, but Lois caught his arm before he could make contact.

Her hand tightened on his wrist, staying his motion. When he looked up at her in surprise, she shook her head slowly, the corner of her mouth lifting into a smile. "My turn," she murmured, releasing his hand so she could press her palm against his chest, pushing him gently back onto the bed.

Clark's eyebrows were arched in curiosity as he lay back against the mattress, and Lois reached over him to grab the small bowl of melted chocolate from his hand. Frowning into the perfectly melted chocolate, maintained at the perfect temperature, she asked, "How is this not cooling yet?"

His expression was entirely too innocent as he cleared his throat and offered, "Trade secret."

Lois narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as she looked down at him. Every once in a while, there was just something a little inexplicable about the naked man in front of her. No wonder that, in her wildest fantasies, her entirely overactive imagination had merged Clark and the Blur, so that she imagined Clark performing feats such that the Blur would do.

"You're uncharacteristically quiet. What are you thinking about?" he asked in an undertone, his voice sounding a bit nervous.

Her lips quirked. "Just thinking about you." Throwing her leg over his hips, she straddled him and splayed her hands over his chest as she purred, "Remembering a few of my more vivid fantasies."

"Anything in particular?" he asked in a soft growl, bracing her hips in his palms.

Biting her lower lip, she shook her head. "I was just thinking that reality beats the fantasy any day." Placing the bowl on the bed next to him, Lois dipped her fingertip into the warm chocolate and trailed it down his chest. "Though I'm pretty sure you took this one straight out of my internal monologue earlier."

He didn't deny her accusation, though that could have been due to his preoccupation with the feel of her hair brushing lightly against his chest as she bowed her head as she licked the chocolate off his chest. Tilting her head back to look at him, she grumbled, "And I don't think that's fighting fair, Clark."

Feigning a hurt look, he protested, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Uh huh," she said sarcastically as she reached between them and trailed her nails along the sensitive skin of his inner thigh. He hissed in a sharp breath so, in an overly innocent voice, Lois asked, "Oh, did you feel that?"

Laughing when she saw the glower he threw her, Lois pressed her palm against him. He twitched under her hand, slowly growing hard, and she grinned. "Did I mention I fight dirty?" she asked. Before Clark could answer, she bowed her head and swirled her tongue around the tip of his penis.

"I never – guh," he broke off, making a guttural sound in the back of his throat as she lifted her head and blew across his wet skin. On a shaky breath, he tried again, "I never doubted it, Lois."

"You shouldn't." Lowering her weight onto her elbows, Lois looked up at his face and mused, "I wonder what I could learn if I read your mind, Clark." Ducking her head, she ran her tongue around the length of his shaft, brushing his skin with her lips. Then, as if nothing untoward had happened, she lifted her head and continued in the same voice, "What kinds of fantasies I would uncover."

Without warning, she bent and took him inside her mouth again, scraping her teeth lightly against the tip of his penis before sliding her lips down his shaft. She pressed her tongue against him, listening intently to find out what elicited little moans of pleasure.

"I c-can't…" he gasped as she started to pull off of him. Swirling her tongue around his tip, she took him deep inside her mouth again. His hand sank into her hair, pulling it back as his hips twitched underneath her. "F-fantasies, Lois? I don't know what you're -" he had to pause as he sucked in a sharp breath, "t-talking about!"

Oh, he was going to tease her, was he? Lois narrowed her eyes as she considered the situation. She was definitely going to have to teach him a lesson, she decided. Keeping her eyes locked on his face, she took as much of his length into her mouth as she could and started to hum, causing the walls of her throat to vibrate.

Clark yelped something incoherent, and she could swear she saw his eyes roll back before they squeezed shut. The muscles in his neck corded as he flung his hair back, his hand tightening into her hair. Feeling victorious, Lois hummed louder.

Her hum changed to a surprised yelp as she felt Clark pull her off him suddenly. He lifted her easily, not even seeming to strain with her weight, and she was reminded of the first time she'd met him. The way he'd lifted her to move her aside in the hospital, when she refused to move out of his way.

"Impatient, Clark?" she teased as he lowered her onto him. Her breath caught as he slid inside her.

"You must be rubbing off on me," he gasped as she rolled her hips against him.

Lois's reply came out as a gutteral moan as he withdrew and surged inside of her again. Ducking her head, she pressed her lips against his neck as he moved inside of her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he lifted her hips and thrust inside of her. For a while, the only sounds either of them made were their moans and sighs of pleasure.

Later, Lois heaved a contented sigh as she shifted, forgoing using Clark's chest as a pillow so she could look him in the eye. In the dim light provided by the moon shining through the window, she saw his eyes on her. "So," she said softly, resting her palm against his chest, just wanting to touch him. "What do we do at work tomorrow?"

The corner of his mouth curled in a slight smile. "Well, if our usual routine is anything to go by, I'll get a doughnut on my way to work, and I'll make sure it's one of your favorites because I know you'll steal it before I even get to my desk. By noon, you'll have told me at least four times that you _promise _you won't put yourself in danger for a story. If I'm lucky, you'll make it until at least two o'clock before you find yourself at gunpoint, taken hostage by a psychopath, or hanging from a ledge somewhere…"

Fighting back a laugh, Lois poked him in the side. "Ha ha. Funny man. I meant, what do we do about this? About us? I mean, this does change things between us, you know."

Clark's smile didn't falter as he nodded. "I know. I was hoping at the very least I might finally be able to talk you into going on an official date with me."

Feeling like this deserved some escalation in retribution, Lois chuckled as she grabbed her pillow out from under her head and hit him with it. As she plopped it back onto the bed and lay down again, she said, "Smart ass. You know what I meant!"

The smile falling from Clark's face, he leaned over her, resting his hands on either side of her face so he could stare down at her. "You scared this is going to change things between us?"

"Isn't it?" she asked, the words catching in her throat as she rested her palms on his shoulders.

"I hope so," he murmured in return. "But one thing isn't going to change. When you come into work every morning, you'll still take my breath away. Just like you always do." Brushing a kiss across an eyelid, he said, "Only now, I may have to drag you off into that every office every once and a while." Brushing a kiss across her other eyelid, he said, "Or the copy room." His lips brushed against hers. "Maybe the supply closet."

Lois giggled against his mouth. "The elevator? Or the roof?"

With a feigned long-suffering sigh, he said, "If you insist." But his eyes blazed intently as the smile faded from his face and he stared down at her. "But I hope things change between us, Lois. I love you, and I want to stop pretending that I don't."

"I love you too, Clark," she said softly and kissed him.

As the kiss ended, he lay down in bed next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her tightly against him. Nuzzling his nose in her hair, he breathed in the comforting, familiar scent of her shampoo and closed his eyes.

Lois drifted off to sleep with contented sigh. It was the first night in months that she didn't jerk awake in the middle of the night, tormented by the thought of Clark's touch.

But, then, she didn't need the fantasy anymore. She had the reality.


End file.
